Avenge Us
by The Other Jet Engine
Summary: (basically the whole plot of Avengers 3 and 4) As the Avengers(plus myself) are charged with duties of preventing a certain Mad Titan from eradicating half the universe, Tony Stark discovers what a terrible mistake he has made when he finds out the truth about his being. With odd twists and turns, this is a fanfiction to break all the rules, and create new ones.
1. An Introduction To The Future

**Ollo! This is me, Leyenar Oh, back with another story.**

 **This will be an Avengers:Infinity War and Endgame retelling, no less. Pairings are Captain America X Iron Man, Star-Lord X Ronan, Scarlet Witch X Vision and Daisy X Carol while Ultron gets along with everybody real quick. (Also, why Daisy? 'CAUSE I WATCHED CAPTAIN MARVEL AND MAR-VELL AKA DR. WENDY LAWSON HAPPENED TO BE DEAD!)**

 **The story begins with an introduction, told by Thanos, who plays an important role in the story of the Shining Lord and his Star Warrior, characters who happen to be Steve and Tony's past lives. Also, it is divided in four parts, listed below:  
**

 **Act I-The Coming Of Thanos  
Act II-Battle For The Multiverse  
Act III-If You Need Me  
Act IV-Leyenar Oh, ****Civil Warrior**

 **(Civil Warrior is a character from the mobile game MARVEL:Contest Of Champions.)**

* * *

I stare out into the multitude of universes, watching the ebb and flow of Time as her mighty waves crash upon every solar system, every world, every species, every life...

Well, almost every solar system, almost every world, almost every species, almost every life, and definitely not every universe. There are few universes—and lives—in which her silent song is paused, the music forever ringing on the last note played. In these worlds, to all that are miniature and grand, immortality is a haunting tone. I have heard its concertos and symphonies, listened to the notes fall only to never end, stuck forever as I wait, agonized, for the next unending measure.

As I look out, surveying all that my sights reach, my fingers curl into my palm, forming fists that have ruled without fail and without mercy since the dawn of my crude crusade. There is immense strength in my hands, but my power is not infinite. Such limited potential had and will never be enough for the hunger that lives within me.

I have crushed planets. I have abolished whole populations. I have breathed life into unborn beings and watched as their lives grew pitiable until only I could save them—I have wielded such mastery over the limited agency of my inferiors. But none of these displays satisfy me, not even the adrenaline that comes with the eradication of half a peoples' existence.

However, I know my fate. I have fought it for far too long. I can no longer thrive off of petty hatred and useless violence. I long for Death's sweet touch, yet I know whose eyes I will look into when the time comes: the soul of one who meant much to me before my troubled youth forced her to sacrifice herself for the sake of the universes. She will bring an end to my torturous life.

Nonetheless, that is a story in which one will need to be introduced. And, so, let me start from _The Beginning_...

* * *

In the beginning, there was the One Above All. He is ultimate, the creator of everything known and unknown. One of His first creations was a powerful group of beings, the Celestials. Their intelligence was unprecedented in all the galaxies, for they were creatures born with superior knowledge and abilities.

The Celestials, magnificent beings of great power and knowledge , are the Givers & Directors Of Fate, the Children Of Destiny, and the Bringers Of Life. They are known across the galaxies for being meddlesome in the affairs of Midgard or, as the humans say, Earth. The humans of Earth may liken them to holy creatures, reminiscent of the Catholic God's angels, though that does not give an accurate representation of who the Celestials are.

Of course, the One Above All formed the other universes of which many know, such as Asgard of the Nine Realms. These people, however, were favored by the One Above All. And to show His favor, He created one, that stood out in the greatness of his people, a child who the One Above All called His own. The Celestials merely called him their Shining Lord, their Supernova, their Golden Avenger.

The Shining Lord refused traditional black robes or the advanced armor created by the Celestials. Instead, he created his own suits of armor, which were far more powerful and elegant than anything that existed before, and he was only challenged once. The Shining Lord, challenged by an adviser, proved himself worthy through a bond between his kingdom and Asgard. The Asgardian king was no fool, for he could see the power that swam in his veins. And his prediction was revealed true through the passage of time. The Shining Lord was, indeed, a most powerful being. His power extended to space, time, reality, mind, power, and soul. It was infinite, a power unlike those belonging to the Asgardians or any other people.

Yet, even with such greatness, he was not immune to the temptation of love.

Truly, this is what made him so awesome. The Celestial Monarch loved without barriers:he loved Everything and all that was entailed. I believe that once, he even loved the Children of Darkness:Galactus, Dormammu, and myself. All of the One Above All's creations were precious to the Shining Lord, but there was one who he loved to no limit, no act of his could have derailed the passions inside him. To love him, the act was inscribed into his bones.

The Fire Star Warrior was one of the seven sons of the Ruler of the Heavens, charged with the duty to protect and watch over the festival of lights as it happened each year. He was also titled the Shining Lord's Guardian many years before the birth of Midgard. The revered position of High King's Guardian changed every few hundred years when one was felled in battle or retired to pursue family and the peace that Death brings. Fate, despite the Star Warrior's every effort, had planned her newest guardian to bring the Shining Lord's demise.

But that is the ending to a very long story. To understand, one must learn that the Celestials, though powerful, preferred peace and merrier joys than the shedding of blood in fruitless battles. Their people have a penchant for love. One must know that, as the Midgardians say, love is a most powerful, but a fickle thing. It is a story for a different time, for the story of my death and the Shining Lord's love collides so beautifully...

And, now, let me begin.


	2. She's Invincible, Ain't She?

It was one such year, as the Star Warrior sneaked down, in hope of grabbing some of the famed apples when he found not just the fruit but the Apple Princess herself, daughter of the ruler of Earth. Instantly enamored, he forgot all about his original intent and instead whisked her up away into the heavens.

When the ruler of Earth heard of the news, he raged against the heavens for his daughter to be returned, for without her and the apples she grew, the festival could not happen each year. But to the shock of all, the Princess declared that she too loved the Warrior, and refused to return. Grudgingly, the rulers of Heaven and Earth both gave the two permission to stay together, providing they did not shun their duties.

But, let's just put it aside, when the news of the Star Warrior and the Apple Princess reached the Shining Lord, he got bent out of shape. Hell-bent on winning the Warrior's love back, the Shining Lord created a powerful being to teach the Apple Princess a lesson she'll never forget. His name was Ion, the God of Destruction. He would later be known to a certain amount of people as Shiva. Rebellious and daring, Ion dared to supplant his creator as the High King of the Celestials until he came face-to-face with the One Above All, who told him about his true duties. Ion did not believe at first, but he knew that the One Above All was unable to tell a lie, so he finally came to his senses and used all his powers to conjure up a magical path separating the Star Warrior and the Apple Princess, the Milky Way.

The Apple Princess was despondent and cried and begged her father to let her be reunited with the Warrior once more, but he refused, knowing that he would receive the wrath of the Shining Lord by doing so. Meanwhile, the Star Warrior realized what a terrible mistake he had made, and he was once again reunited with his liege, the Shining Lord. He never dared to go across the Milky Way for the Apple Princess, for she deserved such punishment by falling in love with the Guardian of the High King.

* * *

 **I made nicknames for certain Avengers:  
Irah=Iron Man  
Cap=Captain America  
** **Big Green=Hulk  
** **Hawkward=Hawkeye  
Blackie=Black Widow  
Scarly=Scarlet Witch  
Viz=Vision  
Pantie=Black Panther** **  
Doc=Dr. Strange  
Mimi=Captain Marvel  
Spidey=Spider-Man**

 **(Feat. Winnie=Winter Soldier)**

 **Bad Ideas Gone Wrong Productions Presents:**  
 **Leyenar and avengers Bizarre Adventure:The Titan Empire Strikes Back 2 the Future of the last Crusade Revenge of the Fallen Ballad of the dusted heroes**

"Well, now, there's a four-dollar word. We just call it "Avenge Us"."

 **Alright, then...**

 **Bad Ideas Gone Wrong Productions Presents:  
Avenge Us **

**Directed By:Leyenar Oh**

 **Starring:  
Leyenar Oh as herself  
** **James Spader as Ultron Stark-Rogers  
** **Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man  
** **Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America  
Chris Pratt as Star-Lord  
Lee Pace as Ronan  
Chris Hemsworth as Thor  
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk** **  
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton  
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow  
** **Karen Gillian as Nebula  
** **Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon  
** **Vin Diesel as Groot  
** **Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange/Dr. Strange  
** **Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine  
** **Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man  
** **Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther  
** **Paul Bettany as Vision  
** **Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch  
** **Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon  
** **Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/White Wolf(though still called Winter Soldier)  
** **Letitia Wright as Shuri  
** **Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer  
** **Zoe Saldana as Gamora** **  
** **Josh Brolin as Thanos  
** **Pom Klementieff as Mantis  
** **Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp  
** **Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man  
** **Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel** **  
Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson  
Ty Simpkins as Harley Keener  
Lexi Rabe as Morgan Stark **

**Dacre Montgomery as the Shining Lord  
Tye Sheridan as the Fire Star Warrior  
Ezra Miller** **as the Moon Prince  
Cameron Boyce as the Sun Soldier  
** **And** **the cast of thousands**

 **Act I-The Coming Of Thanos**

* * *

We begin our story of strife and glory in a local cinema, somewhere in South Korea. The year was 2015, and Director Leyenar Oh was just 12 by the time she first phased into the MARVEL Cinematic Universe. She somehow knew that she had been chosen by the One Above All, to bring salvation to everybody in the MARVEL multiverse. And that was when she was first introduced to Ultron—Yoshida Ultron, the Steve/Tony matchmaker, who went on a rampage, forgetting his true duties. Leyenar wondered for quite some time if she can ever get to persuade Ultron. That was when Hawkward's little daughter gave her hope.

"It's not you I'm worr—Hey, whatcha doing there, Lyla-Pyla?"

Steve frowned at that, and only realized that Clint's daughter had come down the stairway, when he turned around. Clint leaned casually in the doorway, folding his arms over his chest as he looked down at the little brown-haired girl.

She merely smiled brightly. "Hi, daddy."

"What are you doing out of bed, baby? It's way past your time."

"Brushing Natasha's hair," Lyla said, holding up a little redheaded doll.

Clint nodded, like this happened often, taking a few steps towards the little girl. "Why, she having a date tonight?"

"No, Natasha and Rex are getting married," she said, lifting the doll in the air, followed closely by some stuffed dinosaur she'd jammed beneath her armpit.

Clint chuckled. "Ohh…big thing, huh?"

"Uh uh."

There was a humming sound, then Clint picked Lyla up, a small squeal filling the air, as he held her with her upper body all but slung over his shoulder. "How about we go upstairs and you tell me all about Tasha's wedding, guest list, cake choice, music, flower arrangement, don't leave any detail out."

 **"Can I come along?"** asked Leyenar.

"Of course you can!" squealed Lyla. "Let me down, daddy!" she yelled, though she was really more laughing, her little body swaying from side to side as the two of them walked up the stairs.

"Yeah, not gonna happen," Clint just said, holding his daughter with one hand while he pointed at Steve. "Say 'Good night, Cap'."

"Good night, Cap!" Lyla intoned, giggling.

Steve followed them with his eyes before waving as well. "Good night," he murmured, smiling into the darkness.

 _LATER..._

 **"So, can you tell me how Nat and Rex got to get married?"** Leyenar asked Lyla.

"There were a lot of others chasing after Nat, wanting to marry her as well." replied Lyla. "But Rex ate them all up, 'cause the best things in life are worth fighting for."

* * *

 _Sokovia_

 **"Ultron, have you ever wondered why you were created?"** asked Leyenar.

"Peace of our time." replied the AI.

 **"Silly Ultron."** snarked the young director. **"That was your secondary programming. When Irah heard Blackie kissed Cap, he got bent out of shape and decided to create a powerful matchmaker to win Cap's love back. Not just any matchmaker, but somebody who is willing to put his life on the line to bring Cap and Irah back together, somebody worthy of being called a Yoshida. And that's you, Yoshida Ultron."**

"Nonsense!" Ultron yelled.

 **"It's true!"** Leyenar retaliated, and revealed two action figures. **"Captain America, do you take Iron Man to be your partner for life?"**

 **"Yes, I will."** she said in her best Captain America voice.

 **"Iron Man, do you take Captain America to be your partner for life?"**

 **"Yes, I will."** she said in her best Iron Man voice.

 **"Alright, then, by the power vested in me by Lyla Jane Wijaya Barton, I hereby declare you Thing 1 and Thing 2."**

Ultron was surprised. "Tell me how these action figures can get hitched."

Leyenar smirked. **"Iron Man was a playboy, wooing every pretty girl doll he met. But every girl doll that came to date him had to face Captain America's mighty shield, 'cause the best things in life are worth fighting for. Cap and Irah both need somebody to fight for their union. And that's you, Yoshida Ultron."**

* * *

After the Sokovia incident, Leyenar chose to stay at the Avengers Mansion. She dared not go back to her parents, since they were no good to her. They didn't even try to understand her opinion on same-sex pairings! Plus, FRIDAY was a really good cook, better than her mom. Once the dust had settled, the heroes threw a raging party for her, during of which Leyenar gave each and every one of them lovely gifts. The Avengers presented her with a buncha beautiful flowers in return.

And then she heard about Ant-Man, and since he was the hero, the villain was definitely DOOMED. But in order to save him, she had to persuade Darren Cross, the villain, to wear that Yellowjacket suit. All that talk-talk-talking was no use, so she decided to put up a musical number instead.

 _Naughty-Leyenar Oh_

 ** _Jack and Jill, went up the hill,_**

 ** _To fetch a pail of water, so they say,_**

 ** _Their subsequent fall was inevitable._**

 ** _They never stood a chance, they were written that way,_**

 ** _Innocent victims of their story._**

 ** _Like Romeo and Juliet,_**

 ** _T'was written in the stars before they even met,_**

 ** _That love and fate, and a touch of stupidity,_**

 ** _Would rob them of their hope of living happily._**

 ** _The endings are often a little bit gory._**

 ** _I wonder why they didn't just change their story?_**

 ** _We're told we have to do what we're told, but surely,_**

 ** _Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty._**

 ** _Just because you find that life's not fair, it_**

 ** _Doesn't mean that you just have to grin and bear it,_**

 ** _If you always take it on the chin and wear it,_**

 ** _Nothing will change._**

 ** _Even if you're little, you can do a lot, you_**

 ** _Mustn't let a little thing like, 'little' stop you._**

 ** _If you sit around and let them get on top,_**

 ** _you might as well be saying,_**

 ** _You think that it's okay,_**

 ** _And that's not right!_**

 ** _Cinderella, in the cellar,_**

 ** _Didn't have to do much as far as I could tell._**

 ** _Her Godmother was two-thirds fairy,_**

 ** _Suddenly her lot was a lot less scary,_**

 ** _But what if you haven't got a fairy to fix it?_**

 ** _Sometimes you have to make a little bit of mischief._**

 ** _Just because you find that life's not fair, it_**

 ** _Doesn't mean that you just have to grin and bear it,_**

 ** _If you always take it on the chin and wear it,_**

 ** _Nothing will change._**

 ** _Even if you're little, you can do a lot, you_**

 ** _Mustn't let a little thing like, 'little' stop you._**

 ** _If you sit around and let them get on top,_**

 ** _you might as well be saying,_**

 ** _You think that it's okay,_**

 ** _And that's not right!_**

 ** _In the slip of a bolt, there's a tiny revolt._**

 ** _The seeds of a war in the creak of a floorboard._**

 ** _A storm can begin, with the flap of a wing._**

 ** _The tiniest suit packs the mightiest sting!_ (points at Yellowjacket suit) **

**_Every day starts with the tick of a clock._**

 ** _All escapes start with the click of a lock!_**

 ** _If you're stuck in your story and want to get out,_**

 ** _You don't have to cry, you don't have to shout!_**

 ** _'Cause if you're little you can do a lot, you_**

 ** _Mustn't let a little thing like, 'little' stop you._**

 ** _If you sit around and let them get on top, you_**

 ** _Won't change a thing!_**

 ** _Just because you find that life's not fair, it_**

 ** _Doesn't mean that you just have to grin and bear it!_**

 ** _If you always take it on the chin and wear it,_**

 ** _You might as well be saying,_**

 ** _You think that it's okay,_**

 ** _And that's not right!_**

 ** _And if it's not right!_**

 ** _You have to put it right!_**

 ** _But nobody else is gonna put it right for me,_**

 ** _Nobody but me is gonna change my story,_**

 ** _Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty._**

And so, Darren joined forces with the Guardians Of The Galaxy(plus Ronan The Accuser) to go against his concept, and he WON! The universe changed, and the only thing left was ultimate salvation...or so everybody thought.

* * *

Captain America and Iron Man were scheduled to get hitched in 2019. It was a much-expected event, and everybody was looking forward to it...'till _it_ happened.

In the months following the battle with Ultron, the government had requested a meeting with Tony. Back then, he had convinced them that Ultron had been an individual mistake, a horrible one-time thing, and that, in the wake of what had happened, there had been no way to save Sokovia from destruction—that they had done everything in their powers to keep casualties at a minimum. And thus, a fragile truce was negotiated.

The fact he'd also agreed to handle reconstruction duties for the government as well as paying for a major part of it had probably weighed heavily in the Avengers' favor.

So in the days after Lagos, the emergency plan they'd formed in case of another incident rolled into high gear the instant Tony, Maria and Pepper had started making phone calls. They had split into groups and had set up round the clock attendance, trying to keep the truce with the UN intact.

All in all, everything worked as they had planned should the Avengers be involved in yet another international emergency. And yet, Tony often felt like he was in an old and clichéd western movie. The good guys were surrounded by bad guys, and the bad guys were in turn surrounded by angered Indians.

He wondered often if going to the Sheriff and simply asking for shackles would be easier than trying to make amends.

Deep inside, Tony had always known that paying for reconstruction and smiling at a few cameras wouldn't be enough this time around. He had known that something had been in the works, had known that, come the time, they would have to face the consequences of their actions. For a long while now, it was just a matter of when and in what form those consequences would be laid bare for them.

Hence the Sokovia Accords.

It had been two days ago, when Tony had—not so legally—gotten notice of the document. Ever since, he had researched every law paragraph, every draft, every e-mail he could locate in an effort to understand what was going to happen.

It wasn't exactly advanced mathematics. The UN wanted to control what they couldn't so far, and by now, they only waited for the right timing to make the Accords public.

And Tony still hadn't told Steve what was coming for them.

He just didn't know how, not with Lagos still weighing heavily on everyone. And not when he knew in his heart that Steve would never agree to this. Their past conversations had made that very clear.

And to Leyenar, it all began with that _crazy_ _lady_ who blamed the Avengers and Irah for her son's death. She thought, _**If it weren't for the gang, let alone her son,**_ **she herself** ** _will be dead right now. Is that god damned family member more important than the entire planet?_**

* * *

"$250,000."

The words melted out of the darkness of Miriam Sharpe's living room. She jerked her head around but could not see the speaker.

The voice, vaguely familiar, continued. "$250,000. All that was needed for you to help Ross wreck many lives."

"Who's there? What are you talking about?" Her questions tripped over each other, voice quavering more than she truly wanted to admit. At that moment, the voice was recognized, and her hands began to shake.

"You already know." The tone remained remarkably even. "Have to admit, your timing was impeccable and your acting skills superb."

Her eyes continued to strain, but her erstwhile visitor eluded her sight. "What do you want?"

"A confession would be nice." The suggestion, casually made, sounded almost like it could have been given from a friend. "A retraction on camera would be even better. You could even donate to a charity for displaced families since the clusterf*cker that hired you has destroyed more homes than the Avengers could have ever dreamed. Of course," and the tone turned bitter, "that was never the purpose of anything done. As you f*cking well know."

Miriam swallowed hard.

It had been an easy decision, at first. A quick, easy, untraceable way to gain financial security.

The conversation with Stark had gone off without a hitch. The details she had given had held up to cursory scrutiny.

She had forgotten that some people would have a little more time on their hands to do some digging. Things had come full circle and she wouldn't escape the truth this time.

And for Leyenar, despite her best efforts, she failed to bring upon a Civil Union, so she left the Avengers Mansion, for she wasn't happy there without the entire gang around. She was currently working with the Guardians plus Ronan, as their Earth messenger. She was also keeping in touch with Ultron and Darren, who were working as renegades now.

Little did anybody know that everything will soon be put at great stake, and long-hidden secrets would soon be unfolded.

* * *

 **Well, during the time of the Celestials, it was the Star Warrior who made the mistake, but during the time of Leyenar, it's Tony who makes the mistake in Spider-Man:Homecoming.**


	3. Once There Was A Way

The golden hall of the mighty temple glowed, sweet luminescent light spilling from within, as the One Above All shifted nothing into something.

His hand was all-powerful, pulling from within His pocket a grain of existential matter—the very materials of which life is born. With these tools, the creator laid down on upon the Celestial ground a gift. It was rumored to be greater than all—a direct descendant of the great One's strength and self. Thousands of colors danced against the windows, casting shadows and rays of brilliance, and the Celestials, who were used to such splendorous kind of wonders, stood in awe. It was a magical scene, prompting wild tales that would never cease to hold a curious ear and the interest of those who see much more than what is. Even the production, herself, would find her attention arrested by the stories told of her making.

Inside the hall, quiet footsteps echoed as the One Above All worked. There was the soft hum of the creator, a pleasant sound; it resonated with the planet and its people for seven days and seven nights. During this time, the Celestials held a great festival to celebrate the One Above All. There were many feasts and much dancing, voices rising in song and praise, and all the world thrummed with the excitement generated throughout the multiverse. Finally, all noise ceased into silence. The people crowded outside the temple, excitement growing high, as their gift was delivered.

"Behold!" The One Above All exclaimed. His great voice boomed across the universes, all His creation. "My son, the Shining Lord. He is given to life, as the High King of the Celestials and father to all whom I have created."

The light gave way, slipping into soft tendrils of shimmering gold until it revealed a beautiful figure standing beneath the rays. The Shining Lord was, in appearance, of 20 years—his midnight blue eyes, however, even as they dropped in child-like tiredness, held an infinite wisdom, his golden skin shining and black hair tied back from his face. The Shining Lord was a vision, a picture of the power and infinite ability belonging to the One Above All.

* * *

 **Korean Translation:  
손대지 마시오** **=Keep Your Hands Off**

* * *

 _A Fallen Hero; speech by Commander Eisenhower_

September 5th, 1945

Yesterday, the nation celebrated as the bombing of Nagasaki brought about what has so long been desired: peace. Today, we mourn as the true cost becomes clear. There are no figures from the fronts yet as to the number of dead, but speculation can only be placed in the millions. Among all those heroes that gave their life to defend freedom and democracy, we honor one in particular. Captain Steven Grant "America" Rogers was revealed today to have been killed in action on March 4th 1945, while stopping a German bomber from reaching New York.

Captain America was at first a stage performer who raised enthusiasm for war bonds. He was then sent to the Italian front to raise the morale of the troops, but Rogers was meant for more than wooden guns and paper shields. On November 3rd 1943, he coordinated and lead a rescue mission to free over 300 Allied POW's from a German internment camp, among them his childhood best friend, James Barnes. His spectacular success lead to him being placed in charge of a group of special forces, the "Howling Commandos," which enjoyed some of the highest allied mission success raids. Rogers, called a tactical mastermind by his superiors, carried out over a hundred raids on German bases and outposts. His bravery, well-known among the men at the front, manifested itself when he boarded a German airplane headed for the continental USA. To save millions at home, he made the ultimate sacrifice and brought the plane down over the arctic ocean.

Captain Rogers has no surviving family. A public ceremony will be held October 1st.

There will be no questions. Thank you.

* * *

 _Stark Industries IPO below expectations; The Financial Times_

March 3rd 1962

Howard Stark yesterday celebrated both his marriage to Maria Carbonell, and the initial public offering of his company, Stark Industries (SI), on the New York Stock Exchange. SI has quickly built a global reputation for building weaponry for the US military and other defence contractors. The IPO was expected to raise $25 per share. However, at the end of the day shares were trading at closer to $20, indicating investors doubt the long-term durability of SI. In a statement, business partner Obadiah Stane stated that the company needed time to "settle into its full potential." Stark retains the majority of shares and as such full executive power. SI is a major US defence contractor and has so far made a profit every year since its establishment in 1956. Stark, who has long standing ties with the US military since WWII, was seen by our analysts to be in an ideal position to enter the weapons market. It remains to be seen how well he will fare.

 _8 Years Later, May 29th_

STARK—Howard Anthony Walter and Maria Collins Carbonell are proud to announce the birth of their son, Anthony Edward Stark. Anthony was born on May 29th weighing 7 pounds and measuring 18 inches. Visitors are asked to call ahead.

* * *

...

* * *

 _Carry That Weight-Jennifer Hudson_

 _Once there was a way,_

 _To get back homeward,_

 _Once there was a way,_

 _To get back home,_

 _Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry,_

 _And I will sing a lullaby._

 _Golden slumbers fill your eyes,_

 _Smiles awake you when you rise,_

 _Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry,_

 _And I will sing a lullaby._

 _Once there was a way,_

 _To get back homeward,_

 _Once there was a way,_

 _To get back home._

 _Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry,_

 _And I will sing a lullaby._

 _Boy, you're gonna carry that weight,_

 _Carry that weight for a long time,_

 _Boy, you're gonna carry that weight,_

 _Carry that weight for a long time_

 _I never give you my pillow,_

 _I only send you my invitations,_

 _And in the middle of the celebrations,_

 _I break, I break, I break down._

 _Boy, you're gonna carry that weight,_

 _Carry that weight for a long time,_

 _Boy, you're gonna carry that weight,_

 _Carry that weight for a long time..._

 _Once there was a way,_

 _To get back homeward,_

 _Once there was a way,_

 _To get back home,_

 _(Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry...)_

 _And I will sing a lullaby._

* * *

 **"손대지 마시오~"**

 **"손대지 마시오~"**

This had been Leyenar Oh's mantra for 3 years, when she came up with something that began with "It all began on a day that was exactly like any other, and what made that day so special for the two leaders of the Avengers was a li'l something that bore the label "Keep Your Hands Off". It all began when that THING exploded in the halls of the Avengers Mansion...", and ended with "And so, Captain America and Iron Man became the official "Keep Your Hands Off" couple in the Avengers.". And now, Leyenar was heartbroken, because of

1\. She failed to bring upon a Civil Union.

2\. Tony made the biggest mistake of his life by getting engaged to Pepper Potts.

3\. And maybe because the holy-bagumba-ness of it all had caused our d-i-r-e-c-t-o-r to...

Suddenly, Leyenar fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. Her friend and assistant, Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, rushed over to help her. **"I'm fine, thank you."** said the young director, swatting Carol's hand away. She thought, **_How could Irah forget Cap that easily? They're destined to be together!_** Yes, indeed, they were, in accordance with the Fate's designs and Time's past illustrations...

Soul-bonding was a rare occurrence with only 3500 bonding confirmation in America since the early seventeenth century. The rarest and ultimate bond of soul-bonding was called the Twin-Flame, they claimed to have spent many past reincarnations together.

Soul-bonding was a romanticized notion. This was a glossy, shiny definition of soulmate:

[Soulmate:] A person with whom you have an immediate connection the moment you meet. A connection so strong that you are drawn to them in a way you have never experienced before. As this connection develops over time, you experience a love so deep, strong and complex, that you doubt you have ever truly loved anyone prior.

Your soulmate understands and connects with you in every way and on every level, which brings a sense of peace, calmness and happiness when you are around them. And when you are not around them, you are all that much more aware of the harshness of life, and how bonding with another person in this way is the most significant and satisfying thing you will experience in your lifetime. You are also all that much aware of the beauty in life because you have been given a great gift and will always be thankful.

Yeah, and that was exactly what happened to Cap and Irah, they were Twin-Flames. Leyenar recognized them as an ancient spirit, which had once been two soulmates conjoined in an act of desperation and true love. Now, the spirit was two souls once more, however, the separation caused great unrest in the depths of their beings. The young girl's hands curled up into tight fists, with an intense fire burning in her eyes. She would do anything in her power to bring Cap and Irah back together, and Ultron would certainly aid and abet her in any plan necessary. And, together, they would make Pepper Potts pay.

The Fates nearly gleamed with the progress of their work:a work to revive the lives of the heroes' past bodies and the lives their souls had once endured.

* * *

 _This is the Asgardian refugee vessel Statesman. We are under assault, I repeat, we are under assault - The engines are dead, life support failing. Requesting aid from any vessel within range. We are 22 jump points out of Asgard. [the voice becomes more desperate and pleading] Our crew is made up of Asgardian families, we have very few soldiers here. This is not a warcraft. I repeat, this is not a warcraft!_

Inside the ship, Ebony Maw walked among the bodies of dead Asgardians. Heimdall, badly wounded, reached out as if he would stop Maw as he passes, but lacked the strength. Maw stepped over them with no mind as he spoke, as if they were scattered pieces of dirty clothing on a bedroom floor. Hear me, and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan...You may think this is suffering...No, it is _salvation_. Universal scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile..." Corvus Glaive stabbed one of the lingering Asgardians. For even in death, you have become Children of Thanos."

Loki stood with the Black Order. He watched Thanos, shrouded in darkness and light, a vague silhouette. "I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right...yet to fail, nonetheless." said the Titan, as he lifted Thor by the neck of his breastplate. Thor struggled feebly. "It's frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now, it's here. Or should I say... _I AM._ " Thanos held up his hand to reveal the Infinity Gauntlet, which already hosted the violet Power Stone.

"You talk too much." spat Thor.

"The Tesseract, or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference." Thanos replied calmly.

"Oh, I do. Kill away!" said Loki.

Thanos' face expressed surprise briefly before he pressed the gauntlet to Thor's left temple. The Power Stone glowed brightly. Thor screamed hoarsely.

Loki began losing his cool demeanor almost immediately as Thor suffers, and broke down after only a few moments. "Alright, STOP! We don't have the Tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard." he said.

Loki glanced at Thor like he knows something he doesn't. He lifted his right hand into the air and the Tesseract revealed itself.

"You really are the worst brother." said Thor.

"I assure you, brother... the sun will shine on us again." said Loki, as he offered the cube to Thanos.

"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian." said the Titan.

"Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian. And for another...We have a Hulk." Thanos looked to his right just as a green and very angry mass slammed into him. Loki dove for Thor, pulling both of them out of the way as the Tesseract skittered across the floor, and the Hulk charged at Thanos. He pummeled Thanos, forcing him backwards and shoving him into the wall of the ship. Maw stopped Black Dwarf from interfering.

"Let him have his fun." he told his brother-in-arms. Thanos pried the Hulk's hands away; an expression of surprise and fear crossed the creature's green face. After several hard blows, Thanos picked up the Hulk and slammed him to the deck, defeated. Thor slammed a metal bar across Thanos's back to no avail, and got kicked across the deck by Thanos and was promptly bound in metal debris by Ebony Maw to keep him from interfering further.

"All-fathers… let the dark magic flow through me one last...time." prayed Heimdall. Immediately, he summoned the Bifrost, which carries the Hulk away; he met Thor's eye.

"That was a mistake." sneered Thanos. He borrowed Corvus's glaive then stabbed Heimdall through the heart, twisting the blade in the wound.

"NOOOOO! You're gonna pay for that!" cried Thor, only to have his mouth shut by Maw, who picked up the Tesseract and handed it to Thanos. "My humble personage…bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay the nobility, to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones. The universe lies within your grasp."

The Titan crushed the Tesseract, revealing the blue Space Stone. He blew some of the fractals away, fingering the Stone between his thumb and index, before placing it on the gauntlet, and was momentarily rocked by the surge of energy that pulses as the stone seated in its setting.


	4. All That She Is

"Let us begin." The High Priest cleared his throat, letting a gauntlet-covered hand fall to the marble table before the elders and drawing attention to his impatient form. The Moon Prince, eldest son of the ruler of Heaven, nodded at the others, settling into the chair beside the High King. The Shining Lord leaned forward in his seat, gazing excitedly at the contestants until he sat on the very edge.

"This night, our Shining Lord shall select a warrior to be his guardian and his most loyal companion. A Guardian must be prepared to sacrifice their life—their very soul—for the survival of the One Above All's son. The Winner must hold him dear to their hearts—as if the loss of the Lord would directly be a loss of themselves." The High Priest's boots were quiet along the tile as he walked, stepping forward to begin the festival. A sword gleamed in his hands, the symbol of success, for whoever was chosen would be given only the finest weapon. Boys, men, and elders stood at the ready, watching the powerful celestial with both fierce and hesitant eyes.

The Shining Lord was watching the crowds with excitement, but there was something in his chest that beat wildly. His skin felt as if it was burning, itching—someone's gaze so heavy that the Lord felt as if it had penetrated to his bones. A young warrior looked up, blue eyes glimmering in wonder, gazing at the Lord wide-eyed. He was the Moon Prince's younger brother. The Lord, in turn, found himself pulled to the contender, unable to see his fate as his advisers did. He merely saw his brilliance, shining like a star under his sights. It was an instantaneous desire, driven by Fate, racing through their veins; the kind of want that neither could recognize, but desperately ached to fulfill.

"This boy, he was born to shed blood." An Elder announced, pleased, to the others after the Shining Lord's favoritism became apparent. The Moon Prince, however, was quiet as he watched his brother. This child, he saw, did not once take his eyes from the King, even as he fought vigorously against those with much more experience and skill. Despite the lack of equal talent, the child was winning his rounds. In his chest, the boy's heart had slowly begun to thump in rhythm with the Lord's own heartbeat: it was an unconscious action, nearly impossible if one was not of holy origin or destined to share a fate.

"You see it as well?" The head of the Celestial military leaned toward the Moon Prince for privacy. The older nodded, glancing at his friend's charge. They had often spoken of this boy, the Fire Star Warrior, for the Prince had noticed that rare flame in his brother's eyes—the one that often sparked inside the Shining Lord. The boy had the skill of a fine fighter.

"This boy, he shall be a great warrior, if he is to serve at the feet of the king."

The general nodded eager. The Prince stifled a chuckle at his friend's giddiness. "But, it is ultimately up to the Shining Lord. He must choose for himself."

As their conversation finished, the bell rung. It declared only three contestants left. From these three, the High King would choose his Guardian. The Star Warrior and two older men stood before the Celestial Council. The Shining Lord nearly bounced in his seat. He simply had eyes for the companion of his own age. The Moon Prince could not disagree that it could be more beneficial if his guard was the same year, for it would allow the two to grow in solidarity much more. It would also be easier for the two to respect each other, for the Lord had a habit of turning his nose at those who thought themselves more educated and many men had a terrible idea that he was too young to know much.

"I have chosen the Warrior," the Shining Lord announced without prompting or waiting a moment longer than he deemed fair. A great silence spilled across the great hall, though the High Priest's groan was the last noise to echo. The Moon Prince was tempted to let loose a smile, for the Lord's confidence was all that his heart had been missing before the ruler's arrival. The young boy looked astounded as if he could not believe the High King had called his name. Great discourse followed the decision's announcement and, for a moment, the Moon Prince's breath caught at the horrible flames that stormed in rage across the Shining Lord's face. The King had not lost his temper, not once, but a great urging rose inside him at the disrespect shown to his chosen partner.

* * *

 **Yes, the Moon Prince is the past life of Ronan The Accuser. Him and the Sun Soldier, Star-Lord's past life, will be introduced properly at the same time as the Guardians.**

 **The Leyenar Gauntlet:**  
 **firefly-path/art/The-Infinity-Gauntlet-Tutorial-677588358 on DeviantArt**

* * *

 _CAP A MUTANT?; The Globe_

April 3rd, 1971

The times they are a-changing, and so is our history, folks! Leaks from inside the DoD concerning Captain America, representative of all that is good and just in our country (don't laugh yet) seem to imply that the good Captain wasn't fully human! We spoke to a source who'd seen the documents and understandably wishes to remain anonymous. He said that there was talk of a project by which Steve Rogers, previously a 5'7 asthmatic, would be turned into the giant bunch of muscles we all know and love. Scientists, amongst which was at least one German, turned Rogers into something that all eyewitness testimonies agrees went 'far beyond human!' Rogers supposedly could run faster, jump farther, and climb higher than any mortal man after the procedure that turned him into something else entirely. Although old propaganda films show that Rogers looks like a normal, if good-looking guy, we can't be sure what was hidden away beneath that cowl and those tights. In hindsight, it seems typical that America's number one soldier wasn't as spick-and-span as we'd all like to think.

* * *

 _STARK NAKED; The Globe_

October 24th, 1997

LONDON - Everyone's favorite inventor and businessman was seen last night partying it up in London. Stark, spotted near the ME London, clearly had something to celebrate. SI is making him one of the richest people in the world. Although his net worth is undisclosed, it's estimated to be in the billions at this point. He was in London to receive the prize Clifford Patterson Medal and Prize, which he won because of his work in energy physics. However, it seems like Stark swapped out one prize for another! We're not sure who these lovely ladies are, but we bet that Stark would want to study their energy all right - enthusiastically, from the way Stark is pretty much undressed. Obadiah Stane, who runs SI for Stark, reportedly doesn't much care that his wunderkind likes drinking better than inventing - which he likes a whole lot. Stark was never arrested for possession of illegal substances, but the playboy is known for liking his fun. When our reporters asked him the morning after about the events the night before, Stark stated that he liked his social time the way he likes his science: "involving hazardous substances and preferably naked."

Congratulations, Mr. Stark!

* * *

...

* * *

"There are two more Stones on Earth. Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan." said Thanos.

Proxima Midnight knelt in front of him. "Father, we will not fail you."

Loki cheerfully emerged from behind the Black Order. " If I might interject…If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena."

"If you consider failure experience." said Thanos, unimpressed.

"Almighty Thanos, I...Loki...Prince of Asgard...Odinson...The rightful King of Jotunheim...God of Mischief...do hereby pledge to you, my undying fidelity."

Thor squinted and noticed a dagger materialize in Loki's hand. Loki braced himself, thrust upward with lightning speed and attempted to stab Thanos, but got frozen in place by the Space Stone's power before the point could strike home. "Undying." You should choose your words more carefully." said Thanos. He twisted the dagger out of Loki's hand with his right hand, then took hold of Loki's neck with the gauntlet and lifted him to eye level. Loki struggled, kicking, as his throat is squeezed. He made eye contact with Thor before Thanos increased his force on Loki's neck. "You will...never be...a god." said Loki, just before Thanos could snap his neck, killing him.

The Titan walked over and dropped Loki's dead body in front of Thor. "No resurrections this time." he said, then raised the gauntlet, sent violet Power fire through the remains of the Statesman, and used the Space Stone to teleport away with the Black Order.

"No...Loki..." Thor cried, as he was freed.

* * *

Carol had dropped Leyenar in front of Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, telling her that "See you soon!" As soon as Leyenar entered the place, she saw Dr. Strange himself, dressed in casual American clothes, proceeding down the main steps of the Sanctum with Wong.

"Seriously? You don't have any money?" said the doctor.

"Attachment to the material is detachment from the spiritual." said Wong, dressed in his traditional clothes.

"I'll tell the guys at the deli." replied Dr. Strange. "Maybe they'll make you a metaphysical ham on rye."

"Oh, wait, wait, wait, I think I have 200."

"Dollars?"

"Rupees."

"Which is?"

"Uh, buck and a half."

"What do you want?" Before Wong could answer, Dr. Strange noticed Leyenar, who had just came in. "Oh, hello, Director!"

 **"Hi, Doc."** Leyenar replied. **"I'm here to—"** But before she could finish her sentence, something came crashing through the roof. It was Bruce Banner. The Cloak of Levitation swirled around Strange's shoulders immediately.

"Thanos is coming. He's coming..." muttered Bruce.

Dr. Strange was now fully in his mage attire, and he shared a look with Wong. "Who?"

 **"Thanos."** said Leyenar, understanding what Bruce was talking about. **"Referred to as the Dark Lord by his most loyal underlings and the Mad Titan by the galactic community, he's a powerful, extremist, genocidal, psychopath, violent and tyrannical Titan warlord who rules over a distant region of space and commands two massive armies, known as the Chitauri and the Outriders, and a small group of followers known as the Black Order. His own main objective was to bring stability to the universe, as he believed its massive population would inevitably use up the universe's entire supply of resources and condemn it. However, his methodology to succeed was warped; through using the Infinity Stones, Thanos intended to harness their power to exterminate half of all life in the universe. I'm here to tell you about his arrival, I got a message from the One Above All. Can you please help me make my own Infinity Gauntlet, so that I can get the Stones before he does?"**

* * *

Public Park, New York City, day. Tony Stark and Pepper Potts walked on having a conversation.

"Slow down, slow down. I'm totally not kidding." said Tony.

"You're totally rambling." Pepper replied.

"No, I'm not."

"Lost me!"

"Look, you know how you're having a dream, and in the dream you gotta pee?" asked Tony, and Pepper replied with a yes.

"Okay, and then you're like, "Oh my god, there's no bathroom, what am I gonna do?" "Oh! Someone's watching." "I'm gonna go in my pants." joked the genius.

"Right. And then you wake up, and in real life you actually have to pee." said Pepper.

"Yes."

"Yeah. Everybody has that."

"Right! That's the point I'm trying to make. Apropos of that, last night, I dreamed, we had a kid. So real. We named him after your eccentric uncle. Uh, what was his name?"

"Right." smiled Pepper.

"Morgan! Morgan." said Tony.

"So you woke up, and thought that we were..."

"Expecting."

"Yeah."

Tony was getting excited. "Yes?"

Pepper shook her head. "No."

"I had a dream about it. It was so real."

"If you wanted to have a kid, you wouldn't have done that." said Pepper. She untied her boyfriend's jacket sleeves and tapped his chest attachment.

"I'm glad you brought this up, 'cause it's nothing. It's just a housing unit for nano particles." replied Tony. Carol sighed, watching them from afar. She thought, _Even if you two had a child together, that child can't inherit Stark Industries. The rightful heir is still out there, alive._ She exhaled softly, and drew the name from her lips.

"Ultron Stark-Rogers."

* * *

Back at the Sanctum Sanctorum, Leyenar was trying her new Infinity Gauntlet on. **"Now...where to find the Stones?"** she murmured to herself.

Dr. Strange placed a hand on her shoulder. "Fear not, we will find them soon." He then showed her his necklace. "Here's one, should I give it to you?"

 **"No, you keep it."** said Leyenar. **"I'll tell you when the time comes."**


	5. Villain Pub-The Dead Pool

**This is a HISHE tie-in, considering Earth-199999 AKA Leyenar Oh's MARVEL universe is close to the Fandom Central, where all fandoms converge.**

* * *

Palpatine, Joker, Voldemort, Zod, and every Marvel villain are celebrating because Thanos is finally leaving to actually do something other than sit in his chair.

Palpatine:Well, everyone, it has been a long time coming but it is finally time for our janitor, Thanos, to finally go out and make a name for himself.

Everyone:Hooray!

Voldemort:Yes. Here's to the one villain who's done absolutely nothing but is being treated as the scariest villain of all time!

Everyone:Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Thanos:It wasn't my time.

Palpatine:Okay, okay. Now that he's finally going to do something with his life, who's up for a little wager?

Everyone:Ooh ooh! Yes! Me me me!

Palpatine:So be it. I thought we'd start a dead pool on how many heroes Thanos is officially going to kill.

Deadpool:(popping in the door) Did somebody say Deadpool?

Palpatine:Not you, Deadpool! It's an actual dead pool. Now get out of here!

Deadpool:You're gonna have a dead pool without the real Deadpool?! Don't you know how profitable I am?!

Palpatine:GET OUT!

Deadpool:Eh, whatever. (to Thanos as he leaves) I'll see you later, Cable.

Thanos:Mergghhh.

Palpatine:Who wants the first wager?

Joker:Oooo! Oooo oooo oooo, I wanna bet! Put me down for Zero.

Palpatine:What?! Zero?

Joker:Yes, zero! It's MARVEL! The good guys always win!

Malekith:No they don't!

Iron Monger:Remember Quicksilver, man?

Ego:And Yondu?

Joker: I'm just saying. The majority get away a lot.

Palpatine:Very well. Next!

Voldemort:I'm going to say Five. I bet he kills Iron Man, because he's like their dad and that would be really hard to watch; Doctor Strange, because he's got to have magic taken out of the picture; The Incredible Hulk, because he's super strong; Hawkeye, because arrows are stupid.

Iron Monger:Hawkeye's definitely gonna die, man.

Voldemort:And my last pick is, uh, Spider-Man.

Electro:No way! He can't get Spider-Man!

Vulture:What are you, nuts? Oh yes, he can.

Thanos:Oh yes, I can.

Red Skull:Put me down for Drei. I think it's going to be Captain America, Captain America, and Captain America.

Palpatine:You just said Captain America three times!

Red Skull:BECAUSE I VANT HIM TO DIE THREE TIMES!

Palpatine:Okay, Red Skull for Three Cap Deaths.

Hela:I bet he just gets One and it's Loki.

Chitauri Soldier:Oh yeah, Loki's totally gonna die.

Joker:Ooooo! Oooooo, put me down for Loki faking his death and killing Thanos later!

Thanos:Hey!

Joker:I'm just saying. He's a trickster.

Ego:No way! If anyone's gonna kill him, it's gotta be Nebula!

Apocalypse:PUT ALL OF MY MONEY ON WOLVERINE!

Palpatine:Okay, Apocalypse thinks The X-Men are going to show up for some reason. Anyone else?

Ultron:I bet he only gets Two. I bet it's Vision and Scarlet Witch.

Voldemort:Oh yes, I want to change my vote now! I forgot Vision has a stone in his head.

Palpatine:You can't change your vote!

Voldemort:THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!

Yellowjacket:You guys are overthinking this. He's just gonna get the support team. Put me down for Falcon, Ant-Man, Black Widow, Drax, War Machine, and Korg.

Zod:All I know is if you kill Groot, I'm gonna be totally pissed.

Everyone stares at Zod.

Zod:What? He's adorable!

Joker:What about you, Palps? What do you bet?

Palpatine:I think he's going to kill every last one of them except Ant-Man.

Joker:How does he do that?

Palpatine:Ant-Man will go molecular between time and space, and come back in the past meeting up with Captain Marvel, and they will work together to destroy Thanos in the sequel.

Zod:Oh, that sounds cool! I mean, Booooo! Heroes are so annoying!

Palpatine:Is that everyone? No one thinks he's going to kill Black Panther?

Deadpool:(popping in again) They're not gonna kill Black Panther! That would be commercial suicide. Almost like doing a Deadpool video without actually having Deadpool in it.

Palpatine:I SAID GET OUT!

Deadpool leaves again.

Thanos:(gets up) Well, guys, it's finally my time. I'm off to destroy the universe. (heads for the door) You guys were fun. You guys indeed brought a smile on my face. I hope they remember you. (leaves)

Voldemort:What does that mean?

Joker:We're not in danger! Hehe... (immediately worried) Are we?

* * *

 **End of Part 1**


	6. Stony For The Win

**In this story, Pepper Potts is a white supremacist and doesn't approve of colored people, and since I'm Asian to top everything else, that makes her hate me even more. For example, the "banana" is one of those slurs directed at Asian people who are only 90% American, like me.**

 **Act II-Battle For The Multiverse**

* * *

 _He is Iron Man; New York Review of Books_

November 1st, 2010

And so it goes. When Tony Stark, CEO of the former international weapons conglomerate Stark Industries, announced his identity as the mysterious vigilante, or, as he is now being called, "superhero" Iron Man, the world understandably went a bit crazy. Stark was kidnapped after a weapons showing in Afghanistan, and subsequently presumed dead. He reemerged after almost four months, with "Iron Man" in tow. After a public showdown with the "Iron Monger" at the SI campus in California, Stark announced that he is in fact Iron Man. But amongst all the speculation about Stark's time in Afghanistan and further personal life, the question most thinkers and historians are asking is: where's the war?

Super-heroism is neither new nor limited to America. The most famous person we tend to think of as a 'superhero' is Captain America, the propaganda figure turned war hero who, as was revealed in a groundbreaking series of government leaks, was also the subject of a government experiment on creating superhumans. He is considered the first modern superhero because of these two characteristics. He is a hero because he, amongst other various feats, single-handedly rescued over 300 allied soldiers from a German interment camp, and crashed a bomber carrying dangerous material to prevent an attack on Manhattan. He is "super" because, although he began life as a (somewhat sickly) baseline human, and was (as far as we know) not a bearer of the X-gene found in mutants like Charles Xavier, a famous scholar and mutant advocate, after Project Rebirth he had baseline strength at least two and a half times that of a standard human, as well as enhanced endurance. Since Captain America, there have been few such figures, mostly because the science required to create him has been lost to history. What was thought to be an attempt to recreate the super-soldier serum, as the procedure is known, resulted in the destruction of a significant part of Culver University's Science Campus by a rampaging green beast known only as "Hulk" in 2005.

More than a product of science, however, Captain America was a product of his time - both literally and metaphorically. World War 2 required new innovations in military technology, especially if these innovations could either prevent casualties or grant an advantage to allied soldiers - as the super-serum would have. Beyond that, the public image of Captain America was shaped by the propaganda performances required to sell war bonds and raise civilian morale for the war effort. After all, if there is no war, what is the use of a soldier?

This brings us back to Tony Stark, who has declared himself Iron Man. By itself, this is not remarkable, although excited chatter from my more scientifically-minded colleagues tells me that Iron Man's flight capabilities are extraordinary. What is puzzling is the attempt, and subsequent failure, to categorise Tony Stark and Iron Man. He is not a mutant, as far as we know, and Iron Man does not appear to require or use special mutant capabilities, unless they are those of flight. Neither does Stark appear to have been enhanced somehow. He is not superhuman, except if one considers genius a superhuman trait. So far, these are the only two words we have (and have needed) to describe people who can do things normal people cannot.

The fact that we cannot categorise Stark at first appears to be something of a trivial aspect. After all, one would say, a thing is not changed by its label. It does not matter whether we consider Stark a mutant or a superhero, especially since the man himself would probably resist either classification. This would, however, be grossly underestimating both the symbolic and physical impact of people like Stark and their counterparts like Iron Man. The symbolic impact is obvious - if Stark is a superhero, this gives him a certain authority, as well as an implied mandate for physical action. Captain America acted on a mandate given to him by Command, which in turn had a mandate to give orders because the USA had declared war on Nazi Germany. Although the US is embroiled in several conflicts abroad, including that in Afghanistan where Iron Man was allegedly first created, Stark carries no such mandate. This would not change even if it were revealed that Stark carries the X-gene. Mutants, after long decades fraught with tension, are now required to be taught and schooled in their powers, and cannot carry out violent actions without belonging to an officially recognised group - of which there exists only one, the X-Men, who are mostly concerned with policing their own kind.

The question now becomes clear: where's the war that's given Stark his mandate? Of Stark is neither a superhero, due to the lack of war, nor a mutant, due to his lack of an X-gene, he lacks a mandate for action. Iron Man has been spotted at the site of several violent altercations both in the Middle East and in the US, but is not restrained by either national or international law, and can thus act with impunity. At this point in time, the obvious classification of Iron Man is a vigilante. Vigilantism, the diligent reader will recall, is illegal, and for good reason. Citizens taking the law into their own hands without the expertise of our first responders and legal officials are sure to undermine, rather than strengthen, the rule of law. Essentially, Iron Man is either an open invitation for any idiot with a spandex suit to take "justice" into his own hands, or an admission that those with money and power can do as they please.

There are no examples that I can draw on here to illustrate just how devastating the consequences of this would be. With the exception of the troubles with mutants in the late 1960's and 1970's, the consequences of which have been resolved and legalised, our country has a strong history of resting on it's democratic foundation and allowing the law to mete out justice in due course. In order for this to work as it has, we hold faith that the legal system is fair, both in the sense of equal punishment for equal crime, and in that of punishment in proportion to the crime. Justice, the personification of the law, is always portrayed with a blindfold because the law must apply equally to all men and women - this is one of the founding principles of our modern society, that everyone is created equal. While we may not live in a post-racial society, as some would like it to be, the guarantee that the law, at least, sees only your actions is a powerful thing. Vigilantism, enacted by individuals, and not the legal system, automatically voids this blindness principle. An individual, even if they were truly "good" and "heroic," is inevitably biased. Even leaving aside the moral issue and focusing only on practicalities, a vigilante cannot enforce equal punishment as the State, with greater resources and reach, can.

The issue of proportionality is another one altogether. Our idea of vigilantism is based largely on literature, as it rarely occurs on a significant scale outside of fiction. In fiction, vigilantes are violent, but they are not killers. Out of the good of their hearts (or convenient alliances, or tragic pasts) they do not kill. However, fictional vigilantes are, without exception, violent in their attempt to remove injustices and "villains" from the world. Violence, as the modern film-going audience has become used to it, is sanitized, bloodless - with the obvious exception of horror-style crime movies like Pulp Fiction and the works of directors like David Cronenberg. It does not really bother us that violent justice has become a normative representation of justice, because we are so used to violence being a thing without real consequence. This is one of the reasons fictional vigilantes do not kill, as killing is an act with a definite consequence in the movie world. That being said, our real world is not like the movies. Even what we might be tempted to consider low-level violence has real and permanent consequences, and only inspires others to seek violent solutions to problems. This is the reason our justice system is not violent. Vigilantism thus undermines both justice and peace by perpetuating violence.

If democracy sometimes seems slow and ambling, that is because it is weighted down with responsibility; if it sometimes seems callous and uncaring to the individual, that is because it watches out over society as a whole. It is vital to our nation that we preserve the institutions that uphold it. Nobody, not even Iron Man, should be able to avoid the law. Dura lex, sed lex.

M. Brian

* * *

...

* * *

 _Pepper_

"I'm glad you brought this up, 'cause it's nothing. It's just a housing unit for nano particles."

"It's not helping your case, OK?" Pepper told Tony. That aside, she was thankful that they were finally together. That crazy director hell-bent on getting "Cap and Irah" back together was no match for the power of pure true love, after all. Also, she was fed up with that girl calling her boyfriend Irah. Thank goodness that Leyenar finally gave up.

 _Leyenar_

"Are you ready?"

 **"Ready as I'll ever be."** said Leyenar. Everyone thinks that Tony Stark wanted a huge ass union ceremony with all the bells and whistles, and the young director was no exception. And then she would think of Tony Stark & Steve Rogers:Co-Mayors Of Leyenarville, and would go giddy with laughter. But Irah had chosen Pepper, despite his connection to Cap. And every time she thought of it, she felt the hellfire rising up in her once again. However, to top it all, the Avengers were ripped up and torn apart, and there was no way anyone could restore them.

 _Will The Sun Ever Shine Again?-Bonnie Raitt_

 _Rain is pourin' down like the h_ _eavens are hurtin',_

 _Seems like it's been dark since t_ _he devil knows when._

 _How do you go on, never knowin' f_ _or certain,_

 _Will the sun ever shine again?_

 _Feels like it's been years since i_ _t started to thunder,_

 _Clouds are campin' out in the valley a_ _nd glen._

 _How do you go on, when you can't help b_ _ut wonder,_

 _Will the sun ever shine again?_

 _What if the rain keeps fallin'?_

 _What if the sky stays gray?_

 _What if the wind_ _s_ _keep squallin',_

 _And never go away?_

 _Maybe soon the storm will be t_ _ired of blowin',_

 _Maybe soon it all will be over, amen._

 _How do you go on, if there's no way o_ _f knowin'?_

 _Will the sun ever shine?_

 _Wish I could say._

 _Send me a sign,_

 _One little ray,_

 _Lord, if you're listenin',_

 _How long u_ _ntil then?_

 _Will the sun ever shine again?_

* * *

"No, no, it's an attachment, it's not a—" Tony tried to protest.

"You don't need that." Pepper said insistently.

"I know. I had the surgery. I'm just trying to protect us. The future uses, and that's it. Just in case there's a monster in the closet, instead of, you know..."

"Shirts?" said Pepper.

"You know me so well. You finish all my sentences."

"You should have shirts in your closet."

"Yeah. You know what there should be? No more surprises. We're gonna have a nice dinner tonight. Show off this Harry Win-stone. Right? And we should have no more surprises. Ever. I should promise you."

"Yes."

"I will." Tony replied, and kissed Pepper.

She sighed, and said "I do hope there's no monster in your closet. And don't you dare bring Director Leyenar up again! She's a bitch and a banana."

"WHAT?!" said Tony, since he disagreed with Pepper's warped view on Leyenar. "Are you cray-cray?! She's the best girl in the whole entire universe! If you talk about her that way again, I'll use this on _you_." Yes, Tony did love Pepper but he couldn't stand it when she said these _things,_ he still remembered the day she called Rhodey a "nigga" and received a knuckle sandwich from Nat. Afterwards, everybody began laughing at Pepper, and she had run away with her tail between her legs.

 **"Oh, I do hope you do."** said the director, stepping out of a portal with Dr. Strange and Wong.

"Tony Stark, I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me. Oh, uh, congratulations on the wedding, by the way." said Dr. Strange. Tony and Pepper were understandably shocked, and Leyenar shot the doctor a death-glare. "I'm taking back the congrats." Strange quickly fixed himself.

"I'm sorry, you giving out tickets or something?" asked the genius. Leyenar bit back a giggle.

"We need your help. Look, it's not overselling to say that the fate of the universe is at stake." said Dr. Strange.

"I'm sorry, but who's "we"?" asked Tony. Bruce Banner emerged from behind Dr. Strange, and said hi.

"Bruce!" Tony said, surprised. "You OK?"

Bruce gave Tony a desperate hug, without answering. Leyenar understood, since she could feel that he went through a lot. And so, everybody except Pepper headed back to the Sanctum Sanctorum. "From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then, boom! The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals, hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence." said Wong, using magic to show the universe and five out of six Infinity Stones.

Each stone lit up as Strange began naming them. "Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind..." He then opened the Eye Of Agamotto, revealing the green Time Stone. "And Time."

"Tell me his name again." said Tony, focused.

"Thanos. He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York. That's _him_." said Bruce.

"This is it..." murmured Tony. He then asked Bruce, "What's our timeline?"

"No telling. He has the Power and Space Stones, that already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands, on all six Stones, Tony..."

"He can destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamed of." Strange finished.

"Did you _seriously_ just say "hitherto undreamed of"?" asked Tony, leaning on a cauldron.

"Are you _seriously_ leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?" Strange retaliated.

"Is that is what this is?" asked Tony, then the Cloak Of Levitation smacked his arm. Tony, looking offended, straightened himself and said "I ain't going to allow that. If Thanos needs all six, why don't we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?"

"Nah." replied Strange.

"We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone. With our lives." Wong added.

"And I swore off dairy, but then, Ben & Jerry's named a flavor after me, so..." Tony said.

"Stark Raving Hazelnuts."

"Not bad."

"A bit...chunky." said Strange.

"A Hunka-Hulka Burning Fudge" is our favorite." said Wong.

"That's a thing?" asked Bruce.

"Whatever. Point is:things change." concluded Tony.

"Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change. This Stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos." said Strange.

"And still conversely, it may also be his best chance against us." Tony retaliated.

"Well, if we don't do our jobs." Strange said. "Ha, in your face, Tin Man!"

"What is your job exactly, besides making balloon animals?"

"Protecting your reality, douchebag."

Bruce cut in. "Okay, guys, could we table this discussion right now? The fact is that we have this Stone. We know _where it is_. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone, and we have to find him now." he said.

"Yeah, that's the... thing." Tony replied, awkwardly.

"Whaddaya mean?" asked Bruce.

"Two weeks ago, Vision turned off his transponder. He's offline."

"What? Tony, you lost another super bot?"

"I didn't lose him. He's more than that. He's evolving."

"Who could find Vision, then?" asked Strange.

"Sh*t." Tony cursed quietly, and then said "Steven Grant Rogers, possibly."

"Oh, great." sighed Strange.

"Maybe. But..." Tony sighed.

"Call him." Bruce demanded.

"It's not that easy. God, we haven't caught up in a spell, have we?" Tony told him.

"No." said Bruce.

"The Avengers broke up. We're toast."

"Broke up? Like a band? Like The Beatles?" cried Bruce, surprised.

"Cap and I fell out hard. We're not on speaking terms."

"Tony, listen to me. Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not."

Then suddenly, Leyenar emerged from one of the rooms with a boom box, and began singing.

 _Fight As One-Leyenar Oh_

 ** _Our World's about to break,_**

 ** _Tormented and Attacked,_**

 ** _Lost from when we wake,_**

 ** _With no way to go back._**

 ** _I'm Standing on my own,_**

 ** _But now I'm not alone..._**

 _(Avengers Assemble!)_

 ** _Always we will fight as one,_**

 ** _'Till the battle's won,_**

 ** _With evil on the run,_**

 ** _We never come undone._**

 ** _Assembled we are strong,_**

 ** _Forever fight as one,_**

 ** _Assembled we are strong,_**

 ** _Forever fight as one._**

 _(Bridge)_

 _(Avengers Assemble!)_

 ** _Always we will fight as one,_**

 ** _Till the battle's won,_**

 ** _With evil on the run,_**

 ** _We never come undone._**

 ** _Assembled we are strong,_**

 ** _Forever fight as one,_**

 ** _Assembled we are strong,_**

 ** _Forever fight as one,_**

 ** _Assembled we are strong,_**

 ** _Forever fight as one,_**

 ** _Assembled we are strong,_**

 ** _Forever fight as one._**

 _(Bridge)_

 _(Avengers Assemble!)_

 ** _Always we will fight as one,_**

 ** _Till the battle's won,_**

 ** _With evil on the run,_**

 ** _We never come undone._**

 ** _Assembled we are strong,_**

 ** _Forever fight as one,_**

 ** _Assembled we are strong,_**

 ** _Forever fight as one,_**

 ** _Assembled we are strong,_**

 ** _Forever fight as one,_**

 ** _Assembled we are strong,_**

 ** _Forever fight as one._**

Tony hesitated, before pulling out the cellular phone Steve mailed him, muttering 'flip phone'. It seems as though he brings it everywhere, always ready to call his lost lover. Before clicking "Call", he paused, distracted by an unusual rumbling. "Say, Doc, you wouldn't happen to be moving your hair, would you?" he asked.

Dr. Strange saw his forelock fluttering, and said "Not at the moment, no."

Tony looked at the Hulk-made opening through the ceiling and saw debris flying by outside. He and Leyenar exited the Sanctum through the front door and scanned the chaotic surroundings, the camera shaking around in this following long take to illustrate the chaos, people running and screaming in alarm, traffic becoming impossibly tangled, a litter-filled wind like a nor'easter's. A woman fell nearly at their feet and they helped her up. **"You OK?"** Leyenar asked. The woman ignored her and ran away.

A car crashed in on a pole behind Tony, who put on his sunglasses and asked FRIDAY "What am I looking at?"

"Not sure, I'm working on it."

"Hey! You might wanna put that Time Stone in your back pocket, Doc!" cried Tony.

"Might wanna use it." said Dr. Strange, bands of spells readied around his forearms.

A mechanical hum grew louder as Tony approached the intersection. As he turned the corner, he saw a huge circular ship floating over Bleecker Street.

* * *

On a school bus, the hairs on Peter Parker's arms stood up. He looked out the window and saw the ship, then tapped on his best friend in the seat in front of him. "Ned, hey. I need you to cause a distraction."

Ned turned around and saw the spaceship. "Holy bagumba! We're all gonna die! There's a spaceship!" Students scrambled to the windows in the back to see the spaceship. Peter quickly slid on one of his Stark-made web-shooters, and webbed the emergency exit lever on the opposite side of the bus.

"What's the matter with you kids? You've never seen a spaceship before?" said the driver. Peter jumped out the window, clinging to the side of the bus and pulling on his mask before leaping over the side of the bridge, shooting a web-line and swinging free. He made his way hastily towards the ship.

Meanwhile, Tony was snapping out orders. "FRIDAY, evac anyone south of 43rd Street, notify first responders."

"Yes, boss." she replied.

Dr. Strange threw the Winds of Watoomb over Bleeker Street, and winked at Tony. The dust cleared. Tony got begrudgingly amused for a split second. Then Ebony Maw and Black Dwarf exited the ship by transmat. "Hear me, and rejoice. You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. Be thankful, that your meaningless lives are now contributing to..." Maw began, but was interrupted.

"I'm sorry, Earth is closed today. You better pack it up and get outta here." said Tony.

Maw looked at Strange. "Stonekeeper...Does this chattering animal speak for you?" he said, referring to Tony.

"Certainly not. I speak for myself. But you're trespassing in this city and on this planet." said Strange, ready to engage, Wong by his side.

"It means get lost, Squidward!" Tony snapped.

 **"What he wanna say is...E.T, Go Home!"** Leyenar added. She then held up her hand, displaying her Infinity Gauntlet.

"Holy bagumba!" cried Maw, surprised. "How...Is that an Infinity Gauntlet?"

 **"Yup."** said Leyenar.

"But...but there's no way!" said Maw. "How could a scrawny earthling like you possibly...?"

 **"I'm not a scrawny earthling."** Leyenar smirked. **"I'm _the_ scrawny earthling." **

Black Dwarf grunted out two untranslated syllables, and Maw ordered, "Bring me the Stone, before they can give it to her!" Black Dwarf spat three untranslated syllables, and dropped his huge alien hammer and dragged it along as he obeyed his brethren.

"I promise, Director, you can have the Time Stone after we finish this." said Dr. Strange. Leyenar gave him another smirk.

"Banner, you want a piece?" asked Tony.

"No, not really, but when do I ever get what I want?"

"That's right."

Bruce attempted to release the Hulk. Instead of Hulk coming out easily, the most that turns green is Bruce's neck. "Been a while. Good to have you, buddy." said Tony.

"I just... I need to concentrate here for one second. Come on, come on, man." Bruce replied.

"Where's your guy?" asked the engineer.

"I don't know. We've sort been havin' a thing." Bruce told him.

"There's no time for a thing."

"I know."

Tony pointed at the approaching Dwarf. "That's the thing right there. Let's go." Bruce gave out a loud grunt, but failed to release the Hulk. Strange looked at the two of them unbelievingly. "Dude, you're embarrassing me in front of the wizards." said Tony.

"Tony, I'm sorry. Either I can't or he won't—"

"It's okay. Hey, stand down." said Tony, then he turned to Wong and said "Keep an eye on him. Thank you.".

"I have him." replied Wong.

"Dammit." said Bruce.

As Black Dwarf approached the team, a slender, shiny nano-tech suit enveloped Tony's frame. He grew a shield on one arm to protect himself, then grew a set of blasters that easily threw the Dwarf back to Maw, who gestured and deflected his massive companion into some cars. Iron Man turned to Leyenar and said "Stay back sir."

 **"Aye-aye, Irah!"** Leyenar replied, and raced over to the park nearby.

"Where'd that come from?" asked Bruce.

" It's nano-tech. You like it? A little somet—" Before Tony could finish his sentence, Ebony Maw created a spike of earth that threw him far up, and attacked the rest of the team with uprooted trees and other debris. Wong summoned the Shield of the Seraphim.

"Dr. Banner, if the rest of your green friend won't be joining us..." said Strange, then he teleported Bruce to to a nearby park along with half a taxi. Tony returned and joins the fight, pushing a car thrown by Maw back at him. Maw cut it in half and let the pieces fly past him, untouched.

"Gotta get that stone outta here, now." said the genius.

"It stays with me, and with _her._ " Strange retaliated.

"Exactly. Bye." said Tony, and flew through Ebony Maw's obstacle course but got cut short by Black Dwarf's hammer, sending him through a building and into the park at high speed, plowing into the ground and fetching up against a tree.

Bruce rushed over to him. "Tony, you okay? How we doing? Good? bad?"

"Really, really good. Really good. Do you plan on helping out?"

"I'm trying. He won't come out."

Suddenly, Leyenar yelled **"Incoming!"** Black Dwarf arrived at the park and threw his hammer at the three of them.

"Hammer." said Tony, then pushed Bruce and Leyenar out of the way. His energy beam deflected off Dwarf's shield, slicing down trees. Bruce barely evaded one.

Bruce crawled out from under the branches, desperate and confused. "C'mon, Hulk. What are you doing to me?" He began slapping himself multiple times. "Come out! Come out! Come out!"

"NOOOOOOOO!" screamed the Hulk. Bruce fell back exhausted into his tree, and said, "Whaddaya mean, "no"?"

Just then, Tony is knocked down by Dwarf, who is about to deliver a decisive blow, but the alien's hammer is easily caught by Spider-Man. "Hey, man. What's up, Mr. Stark and Director Leyenar?" asked the boy.

 **"Hey, Spidey."** grinned Leyenar.

"Kid, where'd you come from?"

"Field trip to MoMA." Suddenly, Black Dwarf grabbed Peter and threw him away. "What is this guy's problem, Mr. Stark?" asked Peter.

"He's from space. He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard." Meanwhile, Wong and Strange fought Maw. Maw lifted several bricks from the ground and turned them into sharp points. He sent them towards Wong and Strange. The two made portals and boomeranged them back towards Maw. Maw moved a car to protect himself, but one spike still hit his head, creating a cut. Angered, Maw used a broken fire hydrant's water stream to knock Wong back several meters, rendering him unconscious. Strange snapped a whip of magical energy to bind Maw's hands and yanked, but Maw flew forward with the pull and pinned Strange upside-down against a building, using the bricks to trap the Sorcerer Supreme.

"Your powers are quaint. You must be popular with children." he said, as he attempted to grab the Eye Of Agamotto but jerked back when it burned his hand.

"It's a simple spell but quite unbreakable." said Strange.

"Then I'll take it off your corpse." said Maw. He pulled Strange away from the building and threw him to the ground. Strange started the gestures to use the Eye of Agamotto, but utility cables first pinned Strange's arms, interrupting the spell and closing the Eye, while another cable wound around his torso, then tightened around his throat.

"You'll find...removing a dead man's spell...troublesome."

"You'll only wish you were dead." Maw sneered. Strange fell unconscious and to the ground; Maw raised a portion of street pavement to use as a carrier, but the Cloak of Levitation worked its master loose of the cable spiral and flew Strange away. Meanwhile, Tony was still fighting Black Dwarf, as Strange passed through the park.

"Kid, that's the wizard. Get on it." Tony told Peter.

"On it!" Peter chased Ebony Maw, floating speedily and upright on a small platform of burbling debris leaving a deep rut in the streets, who in turn chases the Cloak-driven Strange through Manhattan; Maw attacked him, throwing a Rocket Mortgage billboard at Spider-Man to be rid of him.

"Not cool!" Peter groaned as he freed himself. Maw bent all the utility poles in the path of the fleeing Cloak, finally snagging the loyal garment and ripping it loose of its master. Spider-Man scooped up Strange before he hit the pavement, but before he can get away with the unconscious Strange, a cone of blue light started pulling the mage inexorably upwards. Spider-Man grabbed a light pole to anchor himself, but Maw uprooted it, sending Strange, Cloak and teenager on their way to his ship. "Uhh, Mr. Stark? I'm being beamed up!" cried Peter.

"Hang on, kid." said Iron Man. Black Dwarf's hammer doubled as a claw, pinning Tony to the ground and shorting his suit. As Dwarf jumped towards Tony, blades ready to end this fight, he got sent through a portal instead. The alien turned and leaps to return the same way, but Wong closed it rapidly—only Dwarf's severed hand made it back to the park. Bruce kicked the hand away with a noise of disgust.

Tony shook himself free of the Dwarf's weapon, now powerless. "Wong, you're invited to my wedding." he said.

 **"No, you're not."** said Leyenar, quickly cutting in. She then bowed, and said **"Master Wong, you are cordially invited to the union ceremony of Anthony Edward Stark and Steven Grant Rogers, at the Avengers Mansion, first thing Saturday evening after we defeat Thanos."**

"Hey!" Tony snapped at Leyenar, who smirked back.


	7. No Lane Lines Can Keep Us Apart

Long ago, when the Shining Lord ruled the multiverse and all was peaceful, a child was born to the ruler of Heaven. He was a beautiful child, smart and kind, with a streak of wild recklessness his father called bravery. His name was Moon, Prince of Heaven.

As he grew, Moon learned the ways of the diplomat and the warrior, finding strength and power in both the spoken word and the blade. But his true passion lay with the forge his father had given him. With his magic, arms bared and sweating under the heat, he formed each bright star and set them hanging like jewels in the multiverse. There was one other thing that the Moon Prince was more passionate about than the forge.

A young soldier who went by the name of Sun, one of many soldiers tasked with defending the borders of the multiverse from the darkness and also a powerful warrior.

They shared everything as they worked. The Prince claimed he never wanted any of his stuck up siblings or the whiny brats to meet the Soldier, but he spent days talking about each and every one of them. The Soldier told his prince about all his favorite places, and the fragile mortals that meant so much to him, painting a picture of a lonely, gentle genius with too much potential and so much strength.

Every moment of free time the Moon Prince had, he spent with his best friend, and the time he spent with his family was spent missing him. It didn't matter that the entire multiverse was all in a tizzy about a grand event, the wedding of the Dawn Bringer, a beautiful princess who set the solar cycles of the planets and the patron goddess of the green people who called themselves the Zen-Whoberi. When the Prince should have been swept up in go picking out outfits, all he could think about was what the Sun Soldier was doing without him.

His brothers and sisters knew something was wrong by the moony look their eldest sibling kept sporting and the way he didn't chase them all away when they followed him everywhere or tugged at his robes for attention, which came to a conclusion.

"Moon is in looooooove." They chanted as he finally swatted them away. "Who is it? Moon likes somebody."

"Nobody, go away." The Moon Prince made the scariest faces he could to shoo them away, but his siblings just laughed, too used to his moods to be afraid.

"You should invite them to the Dawn Bringer's wedding."

"Yeah! It's going to be beautiful, she's been planning it for a hundred years!"

One girl came up, eyes wide in awe as she cuddled up to her big brother. "They say that her betrothed is powerful and rich, but we've never seen him."

"Oh, and I suppose you lot have been following the Dawn Bringer around looking for her fiance, him?"

"Yeah!" "Of course." "Duuuuh." The little girl cheered and the Prince sighed. They'd all be lucky if the Dawn Bringer didn't send an Abilisk to swallow them all up if she ever caught them spying.

"Just stay out of his way, you know the Dawn Bringer has a temper." He warned, but the little kids just stuck their tongues out and danced around him in circles. Would Sun like to come to a wedding with him? The Moon Prince had never really thought about bringing him down to his home. Going up to the Sun Soldier's domains, he felt like a different person. He wasn't a failure, he was the eldest son of the ruler of Heaven. People thought he was important and more than that, the Soldier liked him.

Maybe more than liked him.

He'd never had a best friend before, but he had fallen into the Sun Soldier's life like he was a missing piece. It was shocking how well they fit, laughing together, playing tricks and pranks, challenging each other with stupid dares. Even when the Soldier was shy or reluctant, the Prince could always coax him into trouble that more often than not resulted in them running for their immortal lives, chased by angry spirits or annoyed imps.

But all his worries flew out the window when he found his best friend sitting outside. The Prince launched himself at him.

"Why the long face, buddy?" he asked. "I could see you frowning all the way across the galaxies." The Sun Soldier just wept, burying his face in the Moon Prince's shoulder. After so many centuries of being alone, he'd finally found someone who loved him for what he was, caring for his flaws and celebrating his triumphs. A friend, something more than a friend. A partner. A love. An equal. His face scrunched, losing his composure and sobbing as the Prince tried desperately to sooth him. "I can't be with you anymore, I promised to marry the Dawn Bringer."

"Her?" He jerked back, eyes wide in shock. The wedding, the celebration. The Dawn Bringer had been planning the event for a century and was going to marry a powerful Celestial with many mortal worshipers and, and…it was the Sun Soldier?

It was _him_?

"I should have told you, I just didn't want to lose you." He sniffed and rubbed his face on his arm.

"How could you marry her? How did this happen?!" The Moon Prince paced back and forth with his hands in his hair, trying to make sense of the world. The Sun Soldier was so kind and caring, he was gentle, he loved too much. He was brilliantly smart and funny. He was lonely, how could he have ever met the Dawn Bringer? It wasn't possible, this was just some kind of joke. He looked at the Soldier, silently pleading with him to deny it.

* * *

 **The Guardians came in earlier than I thought, so I'll have to include them in this chapter.**

 **Tony(Shining Lord), Steve(Fire Star Warrior), Ronan(Moon Prince), Star-Lord(Sun Soldier) and Ultron(Ion, the god of blood, flame and destruction) are the only ones reincarnated into this age, and everything that happened in the Celestial Kingdom are merely coincidences.**

 **Here's a short explanation of how Ultron can be the reincarnation of Ion:  
Remember, in Age Of Ultron, that little snippet where Tony's ****failed experiment integrated itself successfully to the Ultron program? It was because the Fates have decided the spirit of Ion shall inhabit that program, at least, in this AU.**

* * *

Ebony Maw walked towards the controls of the ship, Strange's unconscious body floating face-down behind him, and prepared to leave Earth's atmosphere, Tony hot on his tail. "Unlock 17-A." the billionaire ordered his assistant. FRIDAY immediately responded by launching a pod from the Avengers Mansion and shooting it towards the accelerating circular ship, somehow it caught Leyenar with it...or did _she_ hitch-hike onto _the pod_? "Pete, you gotta let go. I'm gonna catch you." said Tony.

"But you said save the wizard!" yelled Peter, then took off his mask. "I can't breathe!"

"You're too high up. You're running out of air." Tony told him.

"That makes sense." replied the boy, then passed out due to lack of oxygen. Suddenly, a pod jumped out of nowhere, catching him mid-air. And then Peter was enveloped in a shiny new suit. Now being able to breathe, Peter landed on a bottom part of the ship, standing up heroically. "Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!" he said.

"Happy trails, kid. FRIDAY, send him home." Tony said. A large parachute extended from the new suit, snatching Spider-Man free of the ship's hull and him spiraling back to Earth.

"Oh, c'mon!" yelled Peter.

Tony latched onto the hull and cuts a hole to board the ship, looking for wherever Strange and Ebony Maw went. That was when FRIDAY came in. "Boss, incoming call from Miss Potts."

Pepper sounded heavily worried. "Tony? Oh, my God. Are you all right? What's going on?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just think we might have to push our 8:30 res."

"Why?" Pepper asked.

Tony looked around the ship. "Just 'cause I'll...probably not make it back for a while."

"Tell me you're not on that ship." said Pepper.

"Yeah." replied Tony.

"God, no. Please tell me you're not on that ship." Pepper wailed.

"Honey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I don't know what to say." Tony apologized.

"Come back here, Tony. I swear to God…"

"Pep..."

"Come back here right now! Come back!"

 **"No, he won't. Not in a million years. If he does return, then he'll surely deliver a rocket punch to that pudgy face of yours."** said Leyenar, suddenly cutting in.

"What the...Wait, I recognize you." said Pepper, hearing the familiar voice.

 **"He might be your boyfriend, but he's Captain America's lover, and to top it all, he's an _Avenger._ He's got a planet to save, and a childhood hero to reunite with." **

Now Pepper was furious. Not only her man was with _that girl,_ he was now letting her take over. "You slutty, nasty, bossy high-maintenance—" she cursed, only to be cut short by Tony.

"Now what did I say about that big mouth of yours?" he said before Pepper could say anything racial. "I will come back, and, true to the director's words, I will surely deliver a rocket punch to your pudgy face." And, with that, the connection was shut off.

Meanwhile, Peter Parker is revealed to have managed to shoot a web to the outside of the ship, foiling his parachute, and clambers inside a slowly-closing chamber. "Oh, my god! I should have remained inside that bus..." he said. Ebony Maw, hands engaged in the ship's steering mechanism, accelerated into hyperspace.

Back at New York, Bruce found Tony's flip-phone in the debris on the street and picked it up thoughtfully. Wong opened up a portal back to the Sanctum. "Where you going?" asked Bruce.

"The Time Stone and the director's been taken. The Sanctum remains unguarded. What will you do?" Wong asked back.

"I'm gonna make a call." said Bruce. Wong nodded in understanding and closed the portal, not to be seen again for the rest of this arc. Bruce held Steve Rogers' cell phone and made a call.

* * *

 _Rubberband Man-The Spinners_

 _Hand me down my walkin' cane,_

 _Hand me down my hat,_

 _Hurry now and don't be late,_

 _'Cause we ain't got time to chat._

 _You and me we're goin' out,_

 _To catch the latest sound,_

 _Guaranteed to blow your mind,_

 _So high you won't come down,_

 _Hey ya'll prepare yourself for the rubberband man._

 _You've never heard a sound,_

 _Like the rubberband man,_

 _You're bound to lose control,_

 _When the rubberband starts to jam._

 _Oh boy, this dude is outta sight!_

 _Everything he does seems to come out right,_

 _Once I went to hear them play,_

 _At a club outside of town,_

 _I was so surprised,_

 _I was hypnotized,_

 _By the sound this cat put down._

 _When I saw this short fat guy,_

 _Stretch a band between his toes,_

 _Hey, I laughed so hard,_

 _'Cause the man got down,_

 _When he finally reached his goal,_

 _Hey ya'll prepare yourself for the rubberband man._

 _You've never heard a sound,_

 _Like the rubberband man,_

 _You're bound to lose control,_

 _When the rubberband starts to jam._

 _Got that rubber band,_

 _Up on his toes,_

 _And then he wriggled it up,_

 _All around his nose,_

 _Guaranteed to blow your mind._

 _Playin' all that music, yet keepin' time,_

 _Where in the world did he learn that, oh Lord?_

 _Lord, help him get away,_

 _Hey ya'll prepare yourself for the rubberband man._

 _You've never heard a sound,_

 _Like the rubberband man,_

 _You're bound to lose control,_

 _When the rubberband starts to jam._

 _Rubberband man, rubberband man,_

 _How much of this stuff do he think we can stand?_

 _So much rhythm, grace, and debonair for one man,_

 _And then he had the nerve to wiggle his left toe,_

 _Went to his knee, got the feelin' in his head, y'all,_

 _Oh, come on baby,_

 _Hey ya'll prepare yourself for the rubberband man,_

 _You've never heard a sound,_

 _Like the rubberband man,_

 _You're bound to lose control,_

 _When the rubberband starts to jam._

 _Rubberband man starts to jam,_

 _Moving up and down 'cross the land,_

 _Got the people all in his wake,_

 _Everything probably seems outta place_

 _Just move it, just move, move, move it, just,_

 _Rubberband, rubberband man,_

 _Just move it, just move, move, move it, just,_

 _Rubberband, rubberband man,_

 _Get down, oh, get down low._

Star-Lord, Earth name Peter Jason Quill, was chair-dancing. He seemed to have completely forgotten about his lover, Ronan The Accuser, when he returned to Planet Hala, the Kree home world, to take care of business. "Sing it, Drax!" cried Star-Lord.

Drax, of course, was snoring with his mouth open from his seat in front of Star-Lord. Gamora lip-synched with the song along with Star-Lord. Actually, the "Rubberband Man" song was a distress signal.

Rocket Raccoon yawned. "Why are we doing this again?"

"It's a distress signal, Rocket. Someone could be dying." said an annoyed Gamora.

"I get that, but why are we doing it?" asked Rocket.

"'Cause we're nice. And maybe whoever it is will give us a little cheddar cheese for our help." said Star-Lord.

Gamora waved her index finger at Star-Lord. "Which isn't the point."

"Which isn't the point... I mean… If he doesn't pony up..." Star-Lord began.

"We'll take his ship." Drax finished.

"ZIGACKLY!" yelled Rocket.

"B-b-b-bingo!" Star-Lord chimed in.

Gamora looked up at Star-Lord in concern. He returned her look and grimaced a "don't worry about it" expression at her.

"All right, Guardians. Don't forget, this might be dangerous, so let's put on our mean faces." said Star-Lord. Groot rolled his eyes as Mantis made a snarl. Groot's handheld Terran-vintage video game beeped. "Groot, put that thing away. Now. I don't wanna tell you again." The game continued beeping. "Groot." said Star-Lord.

"I am Groot!" the plant said in a mocking tone.

"Whoa!" Star-Lord gasped.

"Language!" said Rocket.

"Hey!" said Gamora. Drax wowed.

"You got some acorns on you, kid." said Star-Lord.

"Ever since you got a little sap, you're a total d-hole. Keep it up, and I'm gonna _smash that thing to pieces!_ " Rocket warned. Groot rolled his eyes. The Benatar decelerated, and Thanos's devastation suddenly covered the Guardians' field of view, revealing the distress signal to be the one from the Asgardian vessel at the beginning of the movie. Bodies were seen floating dead in space along with the pieces of the shredded ship.

"What happened?" asked Mantis.

"Looks like we're not getting paid." Rocket told her.

With a thump, Thor's body got plastered to the hull of the ship. "Wipers! Wipers! Get it off!" yelled Rocket, shaking his hands wildly. Thor's remaining eye opened, and everybody gasped.

* * *

"How the hell is this dude still alive?" asked Star-Lord.

"He is not a dude. You're a dude. This...This is a man. A handsome, muscular man." said Drax, awe in his voice.

Star-Lord felt a little dented. "I'm muscular."

"Who are you kidding, Quill? You're one sandwich away from fat." said Rocket.

"Yeah, right." Star-Lord admitted.

"It's true. You have gained a little weight…" said Drax, motioning to Star-Lord's chest and belly. Gamora left Star-Lord's side at Thor's right, and circled around the foot of the table.

"What? Gamora, do you think I'm…" Star-Lord began, but was interrupted by Mantis.

"He is anxious. Angry. He feels tremendous loss and guilt." said Mantis, referring to Thor.

"It's like a pirate had a baby with an angel." said Drax.

"Wow. This is a real wake-up call for me. Okay. I'm gonna get a Bowflex. I'm gonna commit. I'm gonna get some dumbbells." Star-Lord grumbled.

"You know you can't eat dumbbells, right?" Rocket told him.

Gamora reached out and and picked up Thor's left arm, stroking his triceps. "It's like his muscles are made of Cotati metal fibers."

"Stop massaging his muscles." Star-Lord said snidely, then told Mantis "Wake him up." Mantis did so.

Thor awakened, sat up violently and threw himself off the table to stumble a few steps away, then turned to see his hosts all pointing their weapons of choice at him; Groot is still playing his game. "Who the hell are you guys?" asked Thor.

 _LATER..._

"The entire time I knew Thanos, he only ever had one goal:To bring balance to the Universe by wiping out half of all life. He used to kill people planet by planet, massacre by massacre..." said Gamora.

"Including my own." Drax added.

"If he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers, like this." Gamora said as she snapped her fingers.

"You seem to know a great deal about Thanos." said Thor.

"Gamora...is the daughter of Thanos." Drax told him.

Thor stood up and yelled, "Your father killed my brother!"

"Oh, boy. Adoptive father. Technically, she hates him as much as you do." said Star-Lord, and Thor calmed down instantly.

"Families can be tough." said Thor. Before my father died, he told me I had a half-sister...that he imprisoned in Hel. Then she returned home, and stabbed me in the eye, so...I had to kill her. It's life, isn't it, I guess. Goes round and round and...I feel your pain."

Star-Lord glared at Thor's hand on Gamora's shoulder, on the verge of full snarl, and moved around her to push between her and Thor. "And I feel your pain, as well. I mean it's not a competition, but I've been through a lot. My father killed my mother, then I had to kill my father. And that was hard. Probably even harder than having to kill a sister. Plus, I, came out of it with both of my eyes—"

Thor wasn't listening, and stared at the soup spoon in his hands. "I need a hammer, not a spoon…" He attempted to fiddle with machinery. "How do I open this thing? Is there some sort of a four-digit code maybe… Maybe a birth date or something…"

"What are you doing?" asked Star-Lord.

"Taking your pod." replied Thor.

"No, you're not!" said Star-Lord, then he began faking Thor's voice. "You'll not, be taking our pod today, sir."

"Quill. Are you making your voice deeper?" asked Rocket.

"Absolutely...NOT!" replied the Terran.

"You are. You're imitating the god-man. It's weird." said Drax.

"No, I'm not." Star-Lord retaliated.

Mantis gasped. "He just did it again!"

"This is my voice!" yelled Star-Lord.

"Are you mocking me?" asked Thor.

"Are _you_ mocking _me_?" Star-Lord repeated.

"Stop it. You did it again." said Thor.

"He's trying to copy me." said Star-Lord.

"That's enough! We need to stop Thanos. Which means we need to find out where he's going next." said Gamora.

"Knowhere." said Thor.

"He must be going somewhere." said Mantis.

"No. Knowhere? It's a place. We've been there. It sucks." said Star-Lord. Suddenly, he noticed Thor rummaging through their food stores. "Excuse me, that's our food."

"Not anymore." said Thor.

"Thor…Why would he go to Knowhere?" asked Gamora.

"Because for years, the Reality Stone has been safely stored, there with a man we call the Collector." Thor replied.

"If it's with the Collector, then it's not safe. Only an idiot would give that man a stone." Star-Lord insisted.

"Or a genius." said Thor.

"How do you know he's not going for one of the other Stones?" asked Gamora.

"There's six stones out there." said Thor as he finished rummaging. "Thanos already has the Power Stone because he stole it last week, when he decimated Xandar. He stole the Space Stone from me when he destroyed my ship and slaughtered half my people. The Time and Mind Stones are safe on Earth. They're with the Avengers."

"The Avengers?" asked Star-Lord. "I heard about them from Director Leyenar, but..."

"They're Earth's Mightiest Heroes." said Thor. "Of course, the director can go on for ages bragging about 'em, and..."

"Like Kevin Bacon?" Mantis cut in.

"Oh, well, Leyenar would say, "What? Kevin Bacon? He's nothing compared to the Avengers!", and as for the Soul Stone, well, no one's ever seen that. No one even knows where it is. Therefore, Thanos can't get it. Therefore, he's going to Knowhere. Hence, he'll be getting the Reality Stone. You're welcome."

"Then we have to go to Knowhere now." said Gamora.

"Wrong! Where we have to go, is Nidavellir." said Thor.

"That's a made up word." said Drax.

"All words are made up." said Thor.

"Hold up, Nidavellir is real?" asked Rocket as he clambered up the table. "Seriously? I mean, that place is a legend. They make the most powerful, horrific weapons to ever torment the Universe. I would very much like to go there, please."

"The rabbit is correct, and clearly the smartest among you." said Thor.

"Rabbit?" asked Rocket.

"Only Eitri the dwarf king can make me the weapon I need." said Thor. "I assume you're the captain, sir?" he asked Rocket.

"You're very perceptive." bragged Rocket.

"You seem like a noble leader. Will you join me on my quest to Nidavellir?" asked Thor.

"Lemme just ask the captain. Oh, wait a second, it's me! Yeah, I'll go." said Rocket.

"Wonderful." said Thor.

"Except for that I'm the captain." said Star-Lord, and he knew that Leyenar would say "you're right" if she was here.

"Quiet!" boomed Thor.

"That's my backpack." grumbled Star-Lord.

"Go sit down." Rocket ordered.

"Look, this is my ship. And I'm not goin' to…" Star-Lord paused mid-sentence, then said "Wait, what kind of weapon are we talking about here?"

"The Thanos killing kind." Thor replied.

"Don't you think that we should all have a weapon like that?" asked Star-Lord, and he knew that Leyenar would agree with him if she was here.

"No. You simply lack the strength to wield them. Your bodies will crumble as your minds collapse into the madness." said Thor.

"Is it weird that I wanna do it even more now?" asked Rocket.

"A little bit. Yeah." said Thor.

"If we don't go to Knowhere and Thanos retrieves another stone, he'll be too powerful to stop." said Gamora.

"He already is." said Thor.

"I got it figured out. We got two ships, and a large assortment of morons. So me and Groot will go with the pirate-angel here, and the morons will go to Knowhere to try and stop Thanos. Cool? Cool." Rocket insisted.

"So cool." grinned Thor.

"For the record…I know that you're only going with him because it's where Thanos isn't." Star-Lord told Rocket.

"You know, Quill, you shouldn't talk that way to your captain, Quill." said Rocket. "Come on, Groot. Put that game down, you'll rot your brain."

"I bid you farewell and good luck, morons. Bye." said Thor.

The Guardians nodded or waved farewell as Thor, Rocket and Groot departed. Meanwhile, Carol Danvers, watching them from afar, murmured "Don't you dare interfere unless told otherwise, report immediately to the Director and the Supreme Accuser when you notice romantic interactions between Star-Lord and Gamora. Keep a safe distance."

* * *

 _Scotland_

"Viz? Is it the stone again?" asked Wanda, noticing Vision in pain.

"It's as if it's speaking to me." replied Vision, in disguise.

"What does it say?" asked Wanda.

"I don't...I don't know. But something..." The stone trilled again and Vision flinched. Wanda took his face in her hands. Vision turned his head so he can kiss her left palm, then pressed Wanda's hand to the Mind Stone. "Tell me what _you_ feel." he said to her. Wanda gestured, her hand emanating her red swirling energy. She seemed confused.

"I just feel you." she said, and they kissed.

 _LATER..._

"So there's a 10 AM to Glasgow to give us more time together before you went back." said Wanda.

"What if I miss that train?" asked Vision.

"There is an 11." Wanda told him.

"What if I missed all the trains? What if this time, I didn't go back?"

"You gave Stark your word." said Wanda.

"I'd rather give it to you."

"There are people who are expecting me too, you know. We both made promises."

"Not to each other." said Vision. "Wanda… For two years, we've stolen these moments, trying to see if this could work. And...I don't know. You know what, I'm just gonna speak for myself. I, I...I think..."

"It works."

"It works." he repeated.

"Then stay. Stay with me." Vision pleaded. Wanda looked down, but then her eyes and attention drifted to her left.

"Or not. If I'm overstepping…" said Vision, suddenly sounding very uncertain. Wanda stepped over to get a better view of the TV in the kebab shop at which they had stopped, drawing Vision with her. It showed coverage of the invasion of New York, the alien antagonists, and the disappearance of Tony Stark.

"What are they?" asked Wanda, sounding fearful.

"What the stone was warning me about." He kissed her hand. "I have to go."

"No, Vision. Vision, if that's true…Then maybe going isn't the best idea." Wanda pleaded, then suddenly Corvus Glaive appeared behind Vision, stabbing him through the back. Vision screamed, loses his disguise to return to his green, red and gold appearance, and got thrown down into the street. Wanda, enraged, circled her hands, gathering up energy for a counterattack when Proxima Midnight blasted her from behind, knocking Wanda across the street and through a bistro's window.

Corvus Glaive pinned Vision down and dug the point of his high-tech glaive into Vision's forehead in an attempt to extract the Mind Stone. Wanda commited her own surprise attack, blasts both of the aliens away, then lifted Vision and herself into a nearby courtyard, from where Wanda drags him to rest in a concealed alleyway. "The blade. It stopped me from phasing." Vision said.

"Is that even possible?" asked Wanda.

"It isn't supposed to be." Suddenly, Vision's voice distorted electronically. "My systems are failing." Wanda used her magic to knit his wound back together. Vision continued in a gasping, wry tone, "I'm beginning to think...we should have stayed in bed."

Corvus Glaive suddenly arrived, knocking Wanda aside and grabbing Vision into the air. "Viz!" yelled Wanda, and Corvus flied away with Vision, slamming him against several walls. Meanwhile, Proxima engaged Wanda with her staff weapon and they, too, began to fight.

"Give up the Stone, and she lives." Corvus told Vision, who flew with Corvus to the roof of what appears to be a church, ricocheting off the stone church tower and onto the metal-clad roof. Simultaneously, Proxima and Wanda fought below, staff weapon versus magic energy hands until Proxima used the blaster effect of her weapon to knock Wanda meters away, stunning her as Proxima leaped down, brandishing her weapon within bare inches of Wanda's face, only held back by Wanda's powers. Furiously, Vision pummeled Corvus, then threw him across the roof, firing a beam from the Mind Stone. Corvus used his glaive to deflect the beam, splitting it into several beams, cutting up Edinburgh's ancient stone like butter, until one branch finally reflected back at Vision, slamming him into the wall behind him. Down below, Wanda has blocked Proxima's staff once again when she heard an agonized cry from Vision. Desperation strengthened her to throw Proxima through the burning lorry sliced in half by the split Stone beam, stunning the alien. Wanda then flew up to the roof where Glaive has pinned Vision and is again attempting to remove the Mind Stone.

"Hands off." she insisted.

Wanda cast a bolt of magic which threw Corvus back through the wall and down a shaft, then flew the two of them away again. Proxima, who has recovered, shot a bolt from her weapon, causing them to fall from the air and down through the roof of Edinburgh Waverley Train Station. Wanda crawled over to Vision, who cannot muster the strength to stand. "Come on. Come on. Come on, you gotta get up. You gotta get up. Come on. Hey. Hey. We have to go." said Wanda.

"Please. Please leave." Vision pleaded.

"You asked me to stay...I'm staying." Wanda replied.

"Please."

"Get up."

Behind them, Proxima and Corvus crashed through the roof and advanced on them, brandishing their weapons. Wanda moved protectively in front of Vision, building power in her hands. An express train passed behind Wanda, and Proxima cocked her head as if aware of another's presence. Confused, Wanda also turned and looked over her left shoulder. As the last train car passes, we see a silhouette on the far side of the platform. Proxima threw her weapon at the shadowy figure, but it is deftly caught just before the figure steps from the shadows. It turned out to be a bearded and furious Captain America. Vision and Wanda looked hopeful and relieved. While all parties are distracted, Falcon swooped in and kicks Proxima across the platform and through the closed cafe's security gate and furniture. Swooping around, he fired on Corvus. At the same time, Captain America threw Proxima's weapon to Black Widow who engaged Corvus, ducking under his swing, stabbing him in the gut and executing a flying kick to knock him backwards. Proxima, who has rushed back to the fight, summonec her weapon back to her hand and attacked Black Widow. Captain America leaped forward, rolled, scooped up Corvus's dropped glaive and held her off. Black Widow joined in with her own escrima sticks. While the three are fighting, Falcon returned and again kicked Proxima backwards; she scuttled over to the prone Corvus. Falcon drew both of his Steyr SPP submachine pistols on the couple.

"Get up." Proxima hissed.

"I can't." Corvus groaned.

"We don't wanna kill you. But we will." Nat said coolly.

"You'll never get the chance again." Proxima retaliated. Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive departed as they are beamed up. The glaive is snatched from Cap's hand as well.

"Can you stand?" Sam asked Vision.

"Thank you, Captain." Vision told Steve.

"Let's get you on the jet." Steve replied.

"I thought we had a deal. Stay close, check in. Don't take any chances." said Nat.

"I'm sorry. We just wanted time." Wanda apologized.

"Where to, Cap?" asked Sam.

"Home." Steve said.


	8. A Buncha Stuff That Happened Next

**Get ready for a quite long chapter!**

* * *

 _An Unspecified Amount Of Time Ago_

"Shhh. We'll be safe. We'll be safe." said a mother, hushing her child. An explosion ensued and the little girl screamed, causing a Black Order knight to find them. Outside, it was a total madhouse. Leviathans, Chitauri chariots and ring-ships flew overhead; explosions and energy bolts from numerous sources criss-crossed the panicked population, felling them randomly; smoke arose from countless fires.

"Zen-Whoberis..." Ebony Maw muttered.

"Mother! Where's my mother?!" screamed the girl from earlier as a soldier dragged her through the crowd.

"Choose a side, or die." Maw told her.

"Mother!" yelled the girl, then punched the arm of the one dragging her who surprisingly dropped her arm and left.

"One side is a revelation. The other, an honor known only to a few." said Maw. The girl whirled around and found herself facing Thanos in his full Titan armor.

"What's wrong, little one?" asked the warlord.

The girl began crying. "My mother. Where's my mother?"

"What's your name?"

"Gamora." replied the girl.

Thanos said, "You're quite the fighter, Gamora. Come. Let me help you." He offered his hand, she wrapped her little fingers around one massive finger, and he led her to a pavilion, where he crouched to her eye level again and produced a small—for him—red-jeweled handle. He pressed the switch, razor-sharp blades popped out both ends. "Look. Pretty, isn't it? Perfectly balanced. As all things should be. Too much to one side, or the other…" He balanced it on one finger, overbalanced it purposefully and caught it, then gave Gamora a try. Meanwhile, Ebony Maw was outside, proceeding the execution. One half of the crowd got shot down. The survivors screamed in horror, and Gamora tried to turn but Thanos prevented her from seeing the massacre. "Concentrate. There! You've got it."

* * *

 _Now_

A fully grown Gamora activated the spring-action blades on that same dagger. Star-Lord approached her, and said "Do you know if these grenades are the "blow off your junk" kind or the gas kind? 'Cause I was thinking I might hang a couple on my belt right here. But I don't want to—"

"I need to ask a favor."

"Yeah, sure." replied Star-Lord.

"One way or another, the path that we're on leads to Thanos." Gamora told him.

"Which is what the grenades are for." Star-Lord joked, then said "I'm sorry, what's the favor?"

"If things go wrong…If Thanos gets me…I want you to promise me…you'll kill me." said the alien woman.

Star-Lord was confused. "What?"

"I know something he doesn't. If he finds out…The entire Universe could be at risk."

"What do you know?" asked Star-Lord.

"If I tell you, you'd know, too." said Gamora.

"If it's so important, shouldn't I?" Star-Lord retaliated.

"Only if you wanna die." Gamora snapped.

"Why does somebody always have to die in this scenario?" Star-Lord yelled.

"Just…trust me. And possibly, kill me."

"I mean, I'd like to. I really would…" Gamora silenced him by covering his mouth with her hand.

"Swear to me. Swear to me on your mother...and Ronan. And Leyenar. Everything."

"Okay." Star-Lord agreed. They kissed, then they heard in a distance, "I am Groot!"

"What?" asked Star-Lord.

"He saw a woman peeking at us." said Rocket. "When he tried to get her, she flew away."

"Who cares?" Star-Lord said. "Now, let's continue on our way!"

Meanwhile, at Planet Hala, Supreme Accuser Ronan had just received a message from Carol Danvers. "WHAAAT?! he roared. "I'll get you, Gamora...if it's the last thing I do!"

Unfortunately, in his fit of rage, he didn't catch Carol's next message:

 _P.S:Thanos is hell-bent on collecting all six Infinity Stones so he can snuff out half of all life in the fictional omniverse, so I've gotta go get an army to stop him. See ya!_

* * *

The Benatar finally arrived at Knowhere, and Star-Lord said "This place looks deserted."

"I'm reading movement from the third quadrant." said Drax.

"Yep. I'm picking that up, too. Let's put it down right here." Star-Lord replied. The four Guardians disembarked and sneaked into the Collector's collection room, which is in ruins. Thanos was threatening the Collector while the Guardians hid behind rubble.

"I don't have it." said the Collector.

"Everyone in the Galaxy knows you'd sell your own brother if you thought it would add the slightest trinket to your pathetic collection." the Titan growled. Star-Lord stopped, and held up a fist meaning 'halt' in the silent language of soldiers. Everybody walked quietly past him. "I know you have the Reality Stone, Tivan. Giving it to me will spare you a great deal of suffering." said Thanos, then pressed his heavy boot into the Collector's chest.

"I told you. I sold it. Why would I lie?" the Collector rasped.

"I imagine it's like breathing for you." said Thanos.

"Like suicide." replied the Collector.

"So you do understand. Not even you would surrender something so precious." Thanos insisted.

"I didn't know what it was." said the Collector.

"Then you're more of a fool than I took you for. Last chance, charlatan. Where's the Stone?" asked Thanos. Meanwhile, Drax was ready to strike, eager to avenge his family. However, Star-Lord stopped him, saying "He doesn't have the Stone yet. We get it, and then we can stop him. We have to get the Stone first. Yeah."

"No. No. For Ovette. For Camaria." Drax ranted, only to be put to sleep by Mantis. He fell with a big crash. Thanos looked towards the sound, then picked up the Collector and threw him into a collecting case before walking towards the disturbance. "Okay. Gamora, Mantis, you go right. I'm..." Star-Lord insisted, then Gamora moved towards Thanos. "The other right!" said Star-Lord hurriedly. Gamora leaped on Thanos from a stack of boxes, swinging her sword at him. He snapped the sword-blade in half, and Gamora stabbed him in the throat with the stub, his lower jaw sagging and himself letting out a hoarse groan, then he got stabbed in the chest with the red-jeweled dagger.

"Why?" asked Thanos. "Why you? Daughter..." He held his hand out to her, blood pooling out from his neck wound, before collapsing completely. Gamora broke down, sobbing.

Star-Lord was surprised. "That was quick."

"Magnificent! Magnificent! Magnificent!" cheered the Collector.

Suddenly, Thanos' disembodied voice filled the room. "Is it sadness I sense in you, daughter? In my heart, I knew you still cared. But one ever knows for sure. Reality is often disappointing." Suddenly, utter destruction unfolded in front of everybody, and the Collector vanished without a trace. "That is, it was. Now… _reality can be whatever I want._ " The Mad Titan was quite alive and undamaged, and the red Reality Stone was already seated in the Infinity Gauntlet.

"You knew I'd come." Gamora snapped.

"I counted on it. There's something we need to discuss, little one." Thanos replied. Gamora hesitated for a beat, then reached for her broken sword. Thanos grabbed her by the back of the neck and swung her around in front of him.

Drax, who had came to, attempted to strike Thanos but the Titan used the Reality Stone to turn him into a pile of cubes, and Mantis got shredded into ribbons.

"Let her go, Grimace!" yelled Star-Lord, blasters in hand.

"Peter..."

"I told you to go right." said Star-Lord.

"Now? Really?" said Gamora.

"You let her go!" Star-Lord ordered.

"Ah, the boyfriend." Thanos sneered.

"I like to think of myself more as a Titan-killing long-term booty call. Let her go." Star-Lord insisted. "Or I'm gonna blow that nut sack of a chin right off your face!"

"Peter...Not him..." Gamora pleaded.

"Oh, daughter. You expect too much from him." Thanos stated. He then turned to Star-Lord and told him "She's asked, hasn't she? Do it."

"Y'know what?" said Star-Lord. "You guys have NO feel for dramatic tension!" He then closed his eyes and pulled the trigger, but instead of laser beams, bubbles came out. Thanos was playing him.

"I like you." Thanos told Star-Lord, and then teleported himself and Gamora away. The Reality Stone's effects disappeared once they left.

Back on Earth, the Quinjet arrived at the Avengers Mansion while Rhodey dealt with the red tape in the holographic person of Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross. "Still no word from Vision?" asked Ross.

"Satellites lost him somewhere over Edinburgh." Rhodey replied.

"On a stolen Quinjet with four of the world's most wanted criminals." Ross reminded him.

"You know they're only criminals because you've chosen to call them that, right, sir?" Rhodey retaliated.

"My God, Rhodes, your talent for horseshit rivals my own." said Ross.

"If it weren't for those Accords, Vision would've been right here."

"I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel."

Rhodey sounded a little bitter. "That's right. And I'm pretty sure I've paid for that." he said, glancing down at his leg bracers.

"You have second thoughts?" asked the secretary.

"Not anymore." replied the colonel. Just then, the fugitive Avengers entered the room, Vision supported by Sam. Steve was the first one to get in and address Ross.

"You got some nerve. I'll give you that." Ross insisted.

"You could use some of that right now." said Nat.

"The world's on fire. And you think, all is forgiven?" Ross snapped.

"I'm not looking for forgiveness. And I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight." Steve replied. "And if you wanna stand in our way, we'll fight you, too."

"Arrest them." Ross ordered Rhodey.

"Nah." replied the colonel, ending the call. "That's a court-martial. It's great to see you, Cap."

"You too, Rhodey." replied Steve as they all gathered for a group hug.

"Well. Y'all are a mess. Must've been a rough couple of years." Rhodey told the fugitives.

"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five-star." said Sam.

"Uh, I think you look great." said Bruce as he joined in. "Uh... heh... Yeah. I'm back."

"Hi, Bruce." said Nat.

"Nat." said Bruce.

"This is awkward." whispered Sam. Suddenly, a brunette woman came into the room.

"Who is she?" asked Rhodey.

"Oh, she's Agent Daisy Johnson of SHIELD. We picked her up on the way home." replied Steve.

Some time later, they all moved to another room to discuss.

"So we gotta assume they're coming back, right?" asked Rhodey.

"And they can clearly find us." replied Wanda.

"My girlfriend's currently out on space, trying to recruit an army." Daisy joined in.

"Who's your girlfriend?" Steve asked.

"Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel. She'd been the director's assistant since 2017, and the director requested her to bring a powerful army that can match Thanos's Black Order." replied Daisy.

"We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?" asked Bruce.

"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott struck a deal. It was too tough on their families, they're on house arrest." Nat revealed.

"Who's Scott?" asked Bruce.

"Ant-Man." replied Steve.

"There's an Ant-Man _and_ a Spider-Man? Okay, look, Thanos has the biggest, most powerful army in the Four-Dimensional World. And he is not gonna stop until he...he gets...Vision's Stone." Bruce murmured.

"Well, then, we have to protect it. " Nat insisted.

"No, we have to destroy it." Vision said softly. "I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature. But also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature, perhaps… its molecular integrity could fail."

"And you, with it. We're not having this conversation." said Wanda.

"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it." Vision replied.

"That's too high a price." Wanda retaliated.

The synthezoid took his lover's face gently in both hands. "Only you have the power to pay it." Wanda got distressed, and walked away. The robot continued to talk. "Thanos threatens half the fictional omniverse. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him."

"But it should." said Steve. He then turned to Vision and said "We don't trade lives, my friend. If the director knew about this, what would she say?"

Vision seemed to shake a bit at the mention of Leyenar, but then swallowed the lump in his throat and retaliated "Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people. Tell me, why is this any different?" Steve took a breath, but before he had a chance to answer, Bruce spoke up.

"Because _you_ might have a choice. Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. JARVIS, Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another."

"You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" asked Wanda.

"I'm saying that if we take out the stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts." Bruce insisted.

"Can we do that?" asked Nat.

"Not me. Not here." Bruce told her.

"You better find someone, and somewhere fast. Ross isn't exactly just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back." said Rhodey.

"I know somewhere." said Steve. And so they all went to Wakanda because they knew a certain _somebody_ there who was capable of doing so.

* * *

"You'll have the Kingsguard, and the Dora Milaje have been alerted." General Okoye told King T'Challa.

"And the Border Tribe?" he asked her.

"Those that are left." she replied.

"Send word to the Jabari as well. M'Baku likes a good fight." ordered T'Challa.

"And what of this one?" asked Okoye.

"This one may be tired of war." T'Challa replied, referring to James Buchanan Barnes AKA the former Winter Soldier, who the director called Winnie. "But the White Wolf has rested long enough." And so, the Soldier was offered a new arm made of vibranium.

"Where's the fight?" he asked.

"On its way." replied T'Challa.

Meanwhile, Ebony Maw was interrogating Dr. Strange. He was floating horizontally, face down, surrounded by dozens of glassy needles, each about two feet long. "In all the time I've served Thanos, I've never failed him. If I were to reach our rendezvous on Titan with the Time Stone still attached to your vaguely irritating person, there would be... judgement." said Maw, as the needles moved, dangerously close to Strange's face. "Give me the Stone."

Meanwhile, Tony, Peter and Leyenar watched from afar with the Cloak Of Levitation. "Wow, you're a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren't you?" Tony told the Cloak.

"Yeah, uh, speaking of loyalty..." Peter murmured. Tony, Leyenar and the Cloak turned to face him, dropping down from above.

 **"Oh, my gosh!"** cried Leyenar. **"So, Spidey, are you joining us too?"** she asked excitedly.

"You should not be here." Tony told Peter.

"I was gonna go home—" Peter began to speak.

"I don't wanna hear it." said Tony.

 **"Oh, Irah, let him tell what happened!"** Leyenar begged. **"Pleeeeeease? Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top and whipped cream and those little chocolate sprinkles? WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"**

"Okay, fine." Tony grumbled.

"But it was such a long way down and I just thought about you on the way...and I kinda stuck to the side of the ship. And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way. So if anything, it's kinda your fault that I'm here." Peter confessed.

"What did you just say?" said Tony in a serious tone.

"I take that back. And now I'm here in space." replied Peter.

"Yeah." Tony crossed to stand right in front of Peter. "Right where I don't want you to be. This isn't Coney Island. This isn't a field trip. It's one-way ticket. You hear me? Don't pretend like you thought this through. You could not have possibly thought this through."

"But I did." Peter exclaimed.

"You could not have possibly thought this through." Tony retaliated.

"It's just...you can't be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man when there's no neighborhood." After saying that, Peter waited for Tony's reaction. "Okay. That didn't really make any sense, but you know what I'm trying to say."

Tony drew in a shaky breath. "Come on. We got a situation." He led Peter over to a viewpoint on the torture below. Peter crouched to study the situation, the Cloak leaning over his shoulder. "See him down there? He's in trouble. What's your plan? Go."

"Um. Okay, okay... uh..." said Peter as he and the Cloak popped back upright. "Okay. Did you ever see this really old movie, Aliens?"

 **"Nah."** replied Leyenar.

Meanwhile, Maw continued to torture Strange. "Painful, aren't they? They were originally designed for microsurgery. And any one of them..." Suddenly, he paused at a sudden thump behind him, and turned to see Iron Man, repulsors fully charged and ready to fire. "...Could end your friend's life in an instant." Maw finished.

"I gotta tell you, he's not really my friend. Saving his life is more a professional courtesy." replied Tony.

Maw called upon some weapons, and said "You've saved nothing. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine."

"Yeah, but the kid's seen more movies." Tony quipped. He fired a rocket from his shoulder which pierced the side of the ship to Maw's right and began to suck everything out with depressurization, especially Maw and his weapons. Dr. Strange got pulled loose of his pinnings, lost the needles, but also heads for the hole, helpless to resist. The Cloak wrapped around his arm and an anchor point, but Dr. Strange's arm slipped loose and he kept going. Spider-Man shot a web strand at Dr. Strange with one hand and held onto a piece of the ship with the other. It broke, sending them both towards space when his Iron Spider suit's metal arms braced him to keep him from being sucked out. Fortunately, Dr. Strange was still surrounded by the ship's atmosphere, making haste to leave. Immediately, Leyenar began roleplaying with herself.

 **"Shock and awe, baby!"**

 **"High score, alien trash!"**

 **"You messed on the wrong team!"**

 **"From Land's End to John O'Grotz!"**

 **"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYIN'?!"  
**

 **"I DON'T KNOW!"**

"Yes!" cheered Peter. "Wait, what are those?!" Spider-Man crouched with his new spider-legs, and made a mighty leap to pull them both back inside. Iron Man quickly sprayed nanites onto the hole to plug it up. Dr. Strange safely, if emphatically, hit the floor. Ebony Maw was left floating in space, quite dead, ice from the escaped atmosphere frosting over his grimace. Spider-Man landed on his new legs, retracts them, and found the Cloak Of Levitation "standing" next to him.

"Hey, we haven't officially met." Peter offered the Cloak his hand to shake. It ignored his offer and continued to Dr. Strange. "Cool." said Peter.

Iron Man walked past Dr. Strange, shaking his head and with his armor retreating into its containment as Dr. Strange got to his feet and donned the Cloak again. "We've gotta turn this ship around." the doctor insisted.

"Yeah. Now he wants to run. Great plan." Tony sneered.

"No, I want to protect the stone." Strange retaliated.

Tony walked towards the expansive front view-port, showing a hyper speed/warp effect. "And I want you to thank me now. Go ahead, I'm listening." he said, irritably.

"For what? Nearly blasting me into space?" asked Strange.

"Who just saved your magical ass? Me." said Tony.

 **"Um, Irah?"** said Leyenar. **"Technically, the whole thing was Spidey's idea..."**

"Director, you stay out!" Tony snapped.

"I seriously don't know how you fit your head into that helmet." Strange told him.

"Admit it. You should have ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you. You refused." Tony fired his own retort.

"Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you." replied Strange.

"And due to that fact, we're now in a flying doughnut billions of miles away from Earth with no backup." said Tony.

Leyenar couldn't handle it anymore. **"Stop it! Both of you!"** she yelled.

Tony waggled a finger at her. "The adults are talking." he insisted.

 **"Have you forgotten who's in charge here?"** Leyenar retaliated. **"I'm the goddamn** _ **director!**_ **And the only girl on this ship. Yeah, whutever,** **can't you fellas just _listen to me for a sec?!_ " **

"Oops, sorry." said both Tony and Strange as they turned to the director, scratching the back of their heads. Leyenar smirked, and began a frenzied introduction of everybidy to everybody.

 **"We can't let Thanos take the Time Stone, right?"** said Leyenar once everybody was familiar with everybody, and held out her Infinity Gauntlet. **"Now seems like a good time, Doc."**

Seconds later, the Time Stone was seated in Leyenar's Infinity Gauntlet, safe and sound. The director began giggling maniacally, and declared **"I'm not sure how this thingy works, but once I figure it out, I can think of about _a million and nine_ evil things to do with it!" **

"What?" asked Peter.

 **"Never mind."** said Leyenar. She smiled as she told Peter **"Welcome to the Avengers, Spidey."**

* * *

At Thanos's ship, the Mad Titan himself had Gamora captive. "I thought you might be hungry." he said as he gave her a cup of food.

Gamora took it, then hurled it across the room where it banged against Thanos' throne with a loud clack. "I always hated that chair." she declared.

"So I've been told. Even so. I'd hoped you'd sit on it one day." Thanos replied.

"I hated this room. This ship. I hated my life." Gamora lamented.

"You told me that too." said Thanos as he sat on the steps to his throne. "Every day. For almost twenty years."

"I was a child when you took me." Gamora reminded him.

"I saved you." Thanos said.

"No. No. We were happy on my home planet."

"Going to bed hungry, scrounging for scraps. Your planet was on the brink of collapse. I'm the one who stopped that. Do you know what's happened since then? The children born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. It's a paradise."

"Because you murdered half the planet."

"A small price to pay for salvation."

"You're insane."

"Little one, it's a simple calculus. This universe is finite, its resources finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correction."

"You don't know that!" yelled Gamora.

Thanos scowled, his egotistical narcissism preventing him from fully listening to her. "I'm the only one who knows that. At least, I'm the only one with the will to act on it. For a time... you had that same will... as you fought by my side. Daughter."

"I'm not your daughter. Everything I hate about myself you taught me." Gamora told him.

"And in doing so, made you the fiercest woman in the galaxy. That's why I trusted you to find the Soul Stone." Thanos declared.

"I'm sorry I disappointed you." said Gamora.

"I am disappointed. But not because you didn't find it. But because you did. And you _lied._ " replied the Titan, and he took her to an isolated chamber where Nebula was face-on, suspended horizontally in the air in the middle of the room, her breath shuddering in pain. Gamora was shocked and hurt to see her sister in such a vulnerable state. She hurried to Nebula's left side, only to see that she has been partially disassembled, her components stretched apart—a cybernetic version of the medieval torture rack. Truly, it was Hannibal Lecter level of brutality, as it was ranked in the Four-Dimensional World.

"Don't do this." Gamora pleaded.

"Some time ago, your sister snuck aboard this ship to kill me." Thanos declared.

"Please don't do this."

"And very nearly succeeded. So I brought her here. To talk."

Thanos curled his gauntleted fist, activating both the Power and Space Stones, scowling—causing Nebula's already extended pieces to stretch further outward. She began to scream.

"Stop. Stop it." cried Gamora as she put her hands on Thanos's gauntlet, pulling it down. "I swear to you on my life. I never found the Soul Stone."

Thanos signaled a nearby servant who tapped on a control pad. Nebula's voice said, _"Accessing memory files"_ and a sort of hologram of Gamora's face shuddered to life. _"_ _You know what he's about to do. He's finally ready, and he's going for the stones. All of them."_ said Memory Nebula.

 _"_ _He can never get them all."_ replied Memory Gamora.

 _"_ _He will!"_ cried Memory Nebula.

 _"He can't, Nebula. Because I found the map to the Soul Stone and I burnt it to ash. I burnt it."_ Memory Gamora told her, and the memory ended with that.

"You're strong. Me. You're generous. Me. But I _never_ taught you to lie. That's why you're so bad at it." declared Thanos. "Where is the Soul Stone?" When Gamora refused to answer, he raised his gauntlet next to Gamora's face. Nebula shook her head, expression terrified, to encourage her sister's silence but when Gamora didn't answer, Thanos clenched the gauntlet again, brow furrowed at his adopted daughter as the Power and Space Stones got reactivated. Gamora grimaced in shared pain at her sister's screams, growing louder as Thanos increased the pressure.

"Vormir!" Gamora cried, and Thanos deactivated the Gauntlet, and Nebula gasped in air as she was pieced back together.

 _"The Stone is on Vormir."_

"Show me." said a satisfied Thanos.

* * *

Thor, Rocket and Groot were headed to Nidavellir. Groot said, "I am Groot."

"Tinkle in the cup. We're not looking. What's there to see? What's a twig? Everybody's seen a twig." Rocket said.

"I am Groot." said Groot.

"Tree, pour what's in the cup out in space, and go in the cup again." said Thor, looking out the rear portholes.

"You speak Groot?" asked Rocket.

"Yes, they taught it on Asgard. It was an elective." replied Thor.

"I am Groot." Groot said shortly.

"You'll know when we're there. Nidavellir's forge harnesses the power of a blazing neutron star." declared Thor, nostalgia in his voice. "It's the birth place of my hammer. It's truly awesome."

"Okay, time to be the captain." Rocket murmured. "So, dead brother, huh? Yeah, that can be annoying."

"Well, he's been dead before, but this time I think it really might be true." said Thor.

"And you said your sister and your dad?" asked Rocket.

"Both dead." Thor replied.

"Still got a mom, though?"

"Killed by a dark elf."

"A best friend?"

"Stabbed through the heart."

And it was time for Rocket to say the final question:"Are you sure you're up to this particular murder mission?"

"ZIGACKLY!" Thor bellowed. " Rage, vengeance, anger, loss, regret... they're all tremendous motivators. They really clear the mind. So I'm good to go."

"Yeah, but this Thanos we're talking about... he's the toughest there is." Rocket quipped.

"Well, he's never fought me." declared Thor.

"Yeah, he has!" said Rocket.

"He's never fought me twice. And I'm getting a new hammer, don't forget." Thor clarified.

"Better be some hammer." Rocket grumbled.

"You know, I'm 1500 years old. I've killed twice as many enemies as that, and every one would have rather killed me, but none succeeded. I'm only alive because fate wants me alive. Thanos is the latest in a long line of bastards and he will be the latest to feel my vengeance. Fate wills it so." Thor explained.

"And what if you're wrong?" asked Rocket.

"If I'm wrong then... what more could I lose?" Thor replied. He sniffed and hastily wiped below his eye before standing up and sitting at the front of the pod, beside Groot.

"I could lose a lot. Me personally. I could lose a lot." said Rocket and revealed an artificial eye. "Okay. If fate does want you to kill that crapsack, you're gonna need more than one stupid eyeball." He then gave the artificial eye to Thor, who asked where did it come from.

"Some jerk lost a bet with me on on Contraxia." Rocket told him.

"He gave you his eye?" asked Thor.

"He gave me 100 credits. I snuck in later that night and stole his eye." replied Rocket.

"Thank you, sweet rabbit." said Thor, and placed the artificial eye in his empty eye socket.

"Hmm. Huh? Oh. I would've washed that. The only way I could sneak it off Contraxia was up my..." Rocket was cut short by a beeping sound. "Hey, we're here!" he cried.

"I don't think this thing works. Everything seems dark." said Thor, smacking his palm against the side of his head to get the eye calibrated.

"It ain't the eye." said Rocket, pointing to a dark planet outside. Much to Thor's surprise, it turned out to be Nidavellir.

"Something's wrong. The star's gone out. And the rings are frozen." said a surprised Thor, but the trio entered the forge anyway. No matter the circumstances, it was the right thing to do.

"I hope these dwarves are better at forging than they are cleaning. Maybe they realized they live in a junk pile in the middle of space." said Rocket.

"This forge hasn't gone dark in centuries..." murmured Thor.

"You said Thanos had a gauntlet, right?" said Rocket, looking at a pedestal.

"Yes. Why?" asked Thor.

"Look anything like that?" True to Rocket's word, the thingy looked exactly like the Infinity Gauntlet.

"I am Groot." said Groot, who was feeling uneasy.

"Go back to the pod." Thor said uneasily, then all of a sudden, a gigantic figure appeared out of nowhere and flung Thor away with one swing of his arm, then kicked Rocket and Groot against a wall of equipment.

"Eitri, wait! Stop!" Thor cried at the giant.

"Thor?" asked the giant, now identified as "Eitri".

"What happened here?" asked Thor.

"You were supposed to protect us. Asgard was supposed to protect us!" cried Eitri as he assaulted Thor.

"Asgard is destroyed." said Thor, stopping Eitri mid-strike. "Eitri, the glove. What did you do?" the Thunder God asked.

"300 dwarves lived on this ring. I thought if I did what he asked, they'd be safe. I made what he wanted. A device capable of harnessing the power of the stones. Then he killed everyone anyway. All except me. "Your life is yours," he said. "But your hands are mine alone."..." Eitri said as he held up his his immobile metal fists, encased in hardened molten metal.

"Eitri, this isn't about your hands. Every weapon you've ever designed... every ax, hammer, sword... it's all inside your head. Now I know it feels like all hope is lost. Trust me, I know. But together, you and I, we can kill Thanos." declared Thor.

* * *

Back on Thanos's ship, a technician was putting Nebula's broken body back together again. Nebula purposefully detached her eye piece, and when the man came close enough to put it back in, she snapped his neck. She walked to a console, straightening her left arm, dragging her still-dislocated right foot behind her, and input a code.

"Mantis, listen very carefully. I need you to meet me on Titan." said Nebula.

Meanwhile, on the ringship, Leyenar, Tony, Strange and Peter were nearing Titan. "Hey, what's going on?" asked Peter.

"I think we're here." said Strange.

"I don't think this rig has a self-park function." said Tony. "Get your hand into this steering gimbal. Close those around it. You understand?"

 **"I do."** replied Leyenar.

"Got it." said Peter.

"This was meant for one big guy, so we gotta move at the same time." said Tony, and though their landing was a little bit bumpy, they made it to Titan.

"Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something, and I eat one of you, I'm sorry." said Peter.

"I don't wanna hear another single pop culture out of you for the rest of the trip. You understand?" Tony told him.

 **"Aww, maaaan!"** cried Leyenar. **"Gosh, Irah, what's wrong with you? I mean, I love you, but you can't just order him around like that! Let him speak."**

"Thanks, Director!" Peter said, and immediately added "I'm trying to say that...something is coming."

A grenade rolled into view, and the quartet got thrown well back when it fired its energy pulse. Star-Lord, Drax, and Mantis appeared in the doorway.

"THANOS!" yelled Drax as he flung a blade at Strange, who neatly deflected it with a mystical shield, and in return sent the Cloak of Levitation at Drax's face, half-smothering him and throwing him to the floor. Star-Lord and Tony had a brief dogfight until a magnetic disc pinned Tony face-first to a structure.

"AH! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! PLEASE DON'T PUT YOUR EGGS IN ME!" cried Peter, then shot web at Mantis in a panic, pinning arms to her body just before Star-Lord flew at him feet-first, kicking him away.

"Stay down, clown!" said Star-Lord, and Leyenar heard his voice. The Guardians had arrived! Immediately, she began singing.

 ** _Golden slumbers fill your eyes,_**

 ** _Smiles awake you when you rise,_**

 ** _Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry,_**

 ** _And I will sing a lullaby._**

 ** _Once there was a way, to get back homeward,_**

 ** _Once there was a way, to get back home,_**

 ** _Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry,_**

 ** _And I will sing a lullaby._**

"...Director?" said Star-Lord.

Leyenar smiled. **"Yeah, it's me. What the hell are you fellas doing here?"**

"You know them?" asked Tony, and Leyenar had to explain everything to him, Strange, and Peter. It had indeed been one helluva explanation, with Leyenar unable to keep her hands off Star-Lord all the time.

"So, you're not with Thanos?" asked Star-Lord.

 **"Us? With Thanos? Hell no!"** Leyenar exclaimed. **"I do appreciate him for his efforts, but c'mon! Gimme a break!"**

And so, thanks to Leyenar, the Avengers and the Guardians decided to work together.

"The heck happened to this planet? It's eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place." Star-Lord exclaimed.

"Yeah, we got one advantage. He's coming to us. We'll use it. All right, I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one. It's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don't wanna dance with this guy. We just want the gauntlet." said Tony, causing Drax to yawn. "Are you _yawning_? In the middle of this, while I'm breaking it down? Huh? Did you hear what I said?" asked Tony.

"I stopped listening after you said, "We need a plan."." said Drax.

"Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page." Tony told Star-Lord.

Meanwhile, Leyenar was experimenting with the Time Stone. Suddenly, she opened her eyes with a jolt. **"Oh, no."** she murmured. **"No, no, no, no, no..."**

"What?" asked Peter.

 **"** **I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming fight."** Leyenar huffed out.

"How many did you see?" asked Star-Lord.

 **"14000605."** the director exclaimed. **"Believe me, it was the wildest thing I ever saw."**

"How many did we win?" asked Tony.

Leyenar paused for a second to catch her breath, and said **"One."**

* * *

Back at Nidavellir, Eitri was showing Thor, Rocket, and Groot the mold for Stormbreaker. "This is the plan? We're gonna hit him with a brick?" asked Rocket.

"It's a mold. A king's weapon. Meant to be the greatest in Asgard. In theory, it could even summon the Bifrost." Eitri replied.

"Did it have a name?" asked Thor.

"Stormbreaker." said Eitri.

"That's a bit much."

"So how do we make it?" asked Rocket.

"You'll have to restart the forge. Awaken the heart of a dying star." Eitri explained.

"Rabbit, fire up the pod." Thor told Rocket.

Meanwhile, Thanos and Gamora were on Vormir. "The stone had better be up there...for your sister's sake." said Thanos. The walk up the mountain seemed to be long, but not difficult. Paths worn by centuries or more of feet led up to the summit, where Thanos and Gamora encountered a floating hooded figure.

"Welcome, Thanos, son of A'lars. Gamora, daughter of Thanos." said the hooded figure.

"You know us?" asked the Titan.

"It is my curse to know all who journey here." replied the figure.

"Where's the Soul Stone?" Thanos demanded.

"You should know...it extracts a terrible price." said the figure.

"I am prepared." Thanos declared.

"We all think that at first." said the figure, revealed to be the Red Skull. He guided the other two to a temple-like structure at the summit.

"How is it you know this place so well?" asked Thanos.

"A lifetime ago, I, too, sought the stones. I even held one in my hand. But it cast me out, banished me here. Guiding others to a treasure I cannot possess." replied the Red Skull, and they stopped on a semicircular engraving overlooking a sheer drop. It descended in three shallow steps to a final half-circle cutout, the whole bisected by a deep cut that ran between the two spires behind them. Far, far below was a full circle with similar engraved decoration. "What you seek lies before you. As does what you fear." said the Red Skull.

"What's this?" asked Thanos.

"The price. Soul hold a special place among the Infinity Stones. You might say it has a certain wisdom." replied the Red Skull.

"Tell me what it needs." Thanos demanded.

"To ensure that whoever possesses it... understands its power... the stone demands a sacrifice." the Red Skull explained. "In order to take the stone you must lose that which you love. A soul... for a soul."

Gamora began to laugh at the irony of the situation. "All my life, I dreamed of a day... a moment when you would get what you deserved. And I was always so disappointed. But now... you kill and torture... and you call it mercy. The universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize, and it told you no. You _failed_. And do you wanna know why? Because you love _nothing_. No one." she giggled, and Thanos turned to face her, all teary-eyed. "Really? Tears?" said Gamora, laughing harder.

"They're not for him." said the Red Skull.

Gamora looked at him, and her haughty smile turned into a panicked gasp as she realized what was coming. "No. This isn't love." she tried to protest.

"I ignored my destiny once. I cannot do that again. Even for you." said Thanos. Gamora stared down unseeing for a moment, then up at the resolution on his face. She grabbed the red-jeweled dagger from his belt with lightning reflexes, triggered the blades and stabs herself in the stomach...except it was only bubbles.

 _"_ _I'm sorry, little one."_

"No!" cried Gamora as she was being dragged to the altar. She tried in vain to break from his grasp, much like she tried to pull free from the Blcack order knight so many years ago, but, pain showing clearly on his face, he threw her over the edge, and watched sorrowfully as she falls to her death. Light pulsed overhead as the sacrifice is correctly accomplished.

Thanos found himself lying in one of the shallow pools back at the base of the mountain. He opened his hand and saw that he now has the orange Soul Stone.

* * *

Sam had drove Daisy, Rhodey, Bruce, Steve, Natasha, Wanda, and Vision to Wakanda via quinjet. King T'Challa and the Dora Milaje approached to greet the arrivals. "In all honesty, when you said we were going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world... this is not what I imagined." said General Okoye.

"And what did you imagine?" asked the king.

"The Olympics. Maybe even a Starbucks." Okoye replied as everybody got off the quinjet.

"Should we bow?" Bruce asked Rhodey.

"Yeah, he's a king." Rhodey replied.

"Seems like I'm always thanking you for something." said Steve as he shook hands with the Black Panther, while Bruce bowed awkwardly.

"What are you doing?" asked Steve.

"Uh, we don't do that here." T'Challa explained, and Bruce shot Rhodey a big grin. "So how big of an assault can we expect?" asked T'Challa as the group began to walk back into the administrative building.

"Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault." said Bruce.

"How we looking?" asked Natasha.

"You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and..." T'Challa began.

"A semi-stable, 100-year-old man." finished the Soldier, cutting in.

"How you been, Buck?" asked Steve.

"Uh, not bad, for the end of the world." replied the Soldier.

In Shuri's lab, Shuri scanned the Stone with her kimoyo beads while Vision lay on the examination table. She flipped her hand over and studied the hologram projected over her palm. "Whoa. The structure is polymorphic." exclaimed the young princess.

"Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially." said Bruce.

"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?" asked Shuri, which Vision agreed with.

"Because, we didn't think of it." Bruce said uncertainly.

"I'm sure you did your best." Shuri said, offering him a warm smile.

"Can you do it?" asked Wanda.

"Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures." Shuri explained. She then turned to T'Challa and said "It will take time, brother."

"How long?" asked Steve.

"As long as you can give me." replied Shuri.

Okoye's kimoyo beads chimed out an alarm, she flicked one bead into her palm, where it projected the globe with a pulsing location marker. "Something's entered the atmosphere." she exclaimed.

Outside, Sam was looking at the sky with the Soldier. "Hey, Cap, we got a situation here!" he said over the Avengers' comm. The defense shield over the Golden City destroyed one of the alien vessels as it slammed into the field at full attack acceleration.

"God, I love this place." said the Soldier.

"Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys. We got more incoming outside the dome." Rhodey declared, having taken down three more ships in full War Machine armor. The shockwaves and debris from the ship landings destroyed acres of forest and boiled up against the dome. The lab had an excellent view of the landing sites. Captain America and Black Panther looked at each other in concern over the scope of what they'll be facing.

"It's too late. We need to destroy the stone now." said Vision, struggling to get off the table.

"No, it isn't. We can hold them off." Daisy said.

"She's right." T'Challa agreed. He, Okoye and the guards headed for the door.

"Wanda, as soon as the stone's out of his head... you blow it to hell." Steve ordered.

"Aye, aye, captain." replied Wanda.

T'Challa began snapping out orders. "Evacuate the city. Engage all defense procedures." He then pointed at Steve and said "And get this man a shield."


End file.
